


Without Wings

by daisyisawriter91



Series: Archangel [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Archangels, Benny is a Mom, Family, Fizzles' Folly, Human Gabriel, I couldn't stop it, M/M, Season/Series 08, isn't it bromantic, slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-04 22:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 26,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13374141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyisawriter91/pseuds/daisyisawriter91
Summary: Garth Fitzgerald IV has been having strange dreams since he was a child. Well, more like nightmares. He always wakes up feeling like he was falling, but he can never remember the dreams. Until a strange man wakes up in the back of Garth's car, setting in motion a chain of events that leads to the truth about Garth.





	1. Chapter 1

_Two archangels stood across from each other, in confrontation. “Barachiel,” One said to the other. “Why are you doing this?” He asked. His name was Raphael. Barachiel smiled in reply.  
“Brother, I can’t be a good little soldier and be ignorant of the truth, especially now that I have seen Earth. My mission is to help people, and, lately, I haven’t been doing much of that. I’m sorry.” And, suddenly, Barachiel was falling. Falling in every sense of the word._

 

Garth Fitzgerald IV awoke with a start. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt as though he had had a nightmare. His skin was shining with sweat and his heart was racing, ready to burst out of his ribs. And yet, he couldn’t recall his dream. It hurt his brain to even try.   
When he crawled out of the motel bed at a very slow pace, every bone and muscle in his body ached with the dull throb of a bad night’s sleep. Stretching out his limbs, he walked to his bag and pulled out a fresh set of clothes, setting to work on getting ready for the day.   
Once he had brushed his teeth, he left the motel room and locked it behind him. He had just cleaned up a vamp nest, so he wouldn’t need it anymore.   
He walked over to his car, threw his bag in the trunk, and clambered into it. And that was when the day got weird.   
Garth heard a groaning coming from the backseat and, in one fluid motion, had a gun pulled on the man collapsed in his car. The man blinked open his eyes and glared at him. “Who the hell are you?” He asked, groggily.  
“Who the hell are you? You’re in _my_ car!” Garth shot back. The man took in his surroundings, sitting up slowly.   
“How ‘bout that. I am.” A pause.  
“What are you doing in my car?” Garth demanded.  
“I…don’t know. I thought for sure I was dead.” The man shrugged. “Ah, well. I may never know. But, since this _is_ your car, I figure I should at least give you a name, right? It’s Gabriel.” The name was familiar. It rang around Garth’s head, shouting something at him, begging him to understand, but he couldn’t, because it was like hearing a foreign language.  
“I’m Garth.” Garth said back, unsure why.  
“Nice to meet ya, Garth!” Gabriel greeted, cheerily. As if there wasn’t a gun being pointed at him. Garth figured that Gabriel was harmless enough, though, so he put the gun away. “Say, how’s the apocalypse going?” Garth frowned.  
“The apocalypse? That ended in 2009. Sam and Dean Winchester stopped it, from what I’ve heard.” Gabriel smiled at Garth’s words, almost fondly.  
“I knew they would. What year is it?”  
“2012. You know Sam and Dean?”  
“We go way back.” Gabriel said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Garth decided that he didn’t want to know. To punctuate the following silence was Gabriel’s stomach. Gabriel looked horrified, but Garth just chuckled.  
“You hungry? I was just about to go get breakfast. I can catch you up on the past three years, if you want.” Garth offered. Gabriel cocked an eyebrow.  
“You trust me?”  
“I have a good feeling about you. This is gonna sound crazy, but I feel like I’ve met you before.” Garth smiled, warmly. Gabriel considered his words.  
“Maybe we _have_ met.” He said, mostly to himself, before climbing into the front seat. Garth got a better look at Gabriel from this angle.   
He was short in stature, had a kind face but mischievous hazel eyes, and he had longish brown hair. Garth started his car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards a diner. Gabriel snapped his fingers, startling Garth a bit.  
“What did you do that for?” Garth asked.  
“Just to test something.” Gabriel seemed bummed, and Garth knew exactly what to do.  
“How do you feel about waffles?” He proposed, already heading to a waffle house. “I don’t know what you like, but waffle houses are beautiful places. It’s the little things in life, you know?”   
“Yeah, I get it.” Gabriel said, like he really understood. A silence settled over them as Garth drove, until he couldn’t hold in his question any longer.  
“So, you were dead for three years?” Garth questioned. Gabriel sighed, like he had been expecting that.  
“I was. I was killed by my brother during the apocalypse.” From Gabriel’s tone, Garth knew not to press the brother issue.  
“Well, I’d heard of folks comin’ back from the dead before, but I’ve never met one before.” Garth reflected. Gabriel began laughing.  
“You know Sam and Dean. You’ve definitely met people who have come back from the dead.” Gabriel replied, laugh still in his voice. Garth, strangely, wasn’t surprised. Garth pulled up to the waffle house but stopped Gabriel before he got out.  
“You know about the apocalypse, you know Sam and Dean, you came back from the dead. Are you a hunter?” Garth felt the need to ask. Gabriel considered for a very long moment.  
“No,” He said slowly. “But now, I don’t think there’s any other choice. Any other _good_ choice, that is.”  
“What do you mean?” Garth asked, confused.  
“I am…I _was_ something very powerful. But, I guess that changed when I was brought back to life. I’m human now, completely.”  
“You have the opportunity to live a normal life. Why not?” Garth wasn’t trying to sway Gabriel one way or the other. He was genuinely curious. Gabriel looked Garth dead in the eye, slight smile almost permanently on his face.  
“I died to save people. Why not live to do the same?”   
Garth grinned. “Couldn’t have put it better, myself. But, you don’t seem to know much about hunting.”  
“Guilty.”  
“I can teach you, if you want.” Garth offered. Gabriel, once again, looked astonished.   
“You would do that?”  
“Hell yeah, I would!” Garth exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted a hunting buddy.” Gabriel laughed at that.  
“You got yourself a deal, Garth.” Gabriel climbed out of the car, Garth soon behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Garth was _certain_ Gabriel wasn’t human, even though he claimed he now was. He’d eaten three plates of waffles in a row. Then again, he’d been dead for three years, so Garth supposed he could be excused.   
“Why did you trust me?” Gabriel suddenly asked around a mouthful of waffle. Garth finished chewing his bite of chicken before answering.  
“Like I said, I have a good feeling about you. You want to save people, and I understand that. ‘Sides, I have a gun and you don’t.” Garth said, teasingly. Gabriel blinked, not quite comprehending, before bursting out laughing.  
“Out of all the things I expected from you, that wasn’t one of them!” Gabriel said, gasping for breath.   
The waffle house was bustling for breakfast, filled with people wrapped up in their own conversations, taking no notice of Gabriel shoveling food into his mouth. Garth took a sip of coffee, with just enough sugar and cream, before turning back to his modest chicken and waffles. It was only modest compared to Gabriel’s food. He’d never seen whipped cream piled so high. “You keep eating so fast and you’ll choke.” Garth warned and Gabriel glared.  
“What are you, my mother?” At least, that’s what Garth thought Gabriel said. “Say, what happened to Samsquatch and Dean-o?”   
“They put Lucifer back in the cage and stopped the Leviathans.” Garth answered. Gabriel nearly choked. “I told you.”  
“The _Leviathans_?” Gabriel hissed. “How did they-why did they-what were they-” Gabriel couldn’t finish a sentence.  
“It wasn’t their fault, this time. From what Bobby was telling me, it was the angel, Castiel.” Gabriel’s face drained of color. “Do you know him? I never met him.”  
“That’s my baby brother.” The pieces clicked together in Garth’s head.   
“You were an angel.”  
“Not just any angel. An archangel.” Gabriel seemed very proud of himself. Garth recognized the word.   
“Impressive.” Garth said into his coffee cup.  
“So, how did they stop the Leviathans?”  
“I’m not sure. I’m trying to figure that out.” Gabriel sighed, setting down his fork on yet another empty plate.  
“Knowing them, one of them is probably dead.” Gabriel said, off-handedly. The thought of Sam or Dean dead made Garth grow cold. Gabriel, seeing Garth’s discomfort, added: “Don’t worry. Winchesters don’t stay dead. I’m sure they’ll be out and about soon enough in that Impala of theirs.” Garth smiled.  
“You’re right. I’m sure they’re fine.” Garth set down his own fork and downed the rest of his coffee. He left the appropriate amount of money on the table and the pair left the booth.   
“Where to, now?” Gabriel asked when they were back in the car.  
“The best way to learn hunting is on the job. I caught wind of a case this morning, before I found you, down in Atlanta. It’s weird.” Garth answered. Gabriel frowned.  
“How weird?”  
“Three people found dead, burned alive.”  
“That’s not so weird. Could be some psycho with a blowtorch or a flamethrower.” Gabriel suggested.  
“For the first vic, it was raining, almost flooding. The second vic was found inside her home in the bathtub. The third vic was at the docks.”   
“Okay, that’s pretty weird.” Gabriel conceded. “What are you thinking it is?”  
“Probably just a vengeful spirit recreating the method of its death. Salt and, ironically, burn job. Still, needs to be taken care of. And we’re not far, a day’s drive.”   
“What are we waiting for?” Gabriel asked, challengingly. Garth grinned and pulled out onto the road, heading straight for Georgia. 

 

 _Barachiel listened to the pair of fledglings squabble with a fond smile upon his face. Castiel and Balthazar were spirited young angels, and usually got long quite well. But, occasionally, there were disagreements. “My wings are prettier than yours!” Balthazar exclaimed.  
“No, they’re not!” Castiel replied, on the verge of tears. That’s when Barachiel had to swoop in.  
“Children, all wings are beautiful. Your wings, Balthazar and Castiel, are more beautiful than most. There is no need to fight over beauty.” The fledglings looked up at him in awe, but Barachiel just smiled, subconsciously flexing his silver streaked black wings. That was when the message rang out, all over Heaven, encompassing every angel, making Barachiel’s blood run cold.  
“Lucifer has fallen.”_  
Garth awoke to Gabriel forcibly shaking him. “Garth!” Gabriel shouted. Garth sat up, rubbing his eyes and finding tears there. “You alright, kiddo?” Garth squinted.  
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay.” He wiped his tears, unsure why he was even crying.   
“You sure? You were having a nightmare.”   
“Really? I don’t remember it.” He looked outside, seeing that the sunrise was about to start. Probably around five or six A.M. Gabriel had gone quiet.  
“You said something. Before you started thrashing around.” Gabriel nearly whispered the next part. “Lucifer.”  
“Lucifer?! Why would I be dreaming about Lucifer?” Garth asked, incredulously. Gabriel put his hands up in defense.  
“Hey, I’ve got no clue!” He replied. Garth eased a bit.  
“Sorry if I woke you up.”  
“Nah, I was already up. I was planning on watching the sunrise. It was one of my favorite things about Earth. Other than candy. And women.” Garth nodded, only barely comprehending the words. Gabriel took pity on him. “You wanna join me?” Gabriel offered. Garth smiled.  
“Yeah, I don’t think I can fall back asleep.” He said, climbing out of bed. He followed Gabriel outside where they sat on the curb, not saying a word, and watched the sunrise.

 

“Why do I have to wear this, again?” Gabriel complained, loudly, adjusting his tie. Another body had turned up. Burned alive, like the others, only this one was swimming in a pool with her friends.  
“Because, to get closer to the case, we’ve gotta impersonate FBI agents.” Said Garth, patiently. Gabriel raised an eyebrow.   
“Awfully naughty of you. You could get in serious trouble.” He said it teasingly.  
“I do what I have to for the job.” Garth finished tying his tie and smiled to his reflection. He hated looking like a funeral director, but, like he said. He did what he had to do. “Ready for your first case, Agent Hope?”  
“Sure am, Agent Walsh.” Gabriel responded, smiling, wryly.  
They set out to Garth’s car and climbed inside, heading to the crime scene.


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel and Garth had successfully impersonated FBI agent to check the crime scene. Garth’s EMF reader was working perfectly, and it gave off red bars. Definitely a spirit of some sort. So, Garth was on his computer, neck deep in research.  
Gabriel returned to the motel room with a paper bag. The alluring scent of cheeseburgers hit Garth’s nose and he looked up. Gabriel opened the bag and threw Garth a burger. Garth caught it and looked back at his computer, absentmindedly eating. Gabriel set fries down next to him and a drink of what was supposedly soda.   
“Got anything yet, kiddo?” Gabriel asked, sitting across from him at the table.   
“I think this is what I said it was. A salt-and-burn job. Only thing is, the only person that connects the vics, Lily Wren, is cremated. I’m guessing she’s attached to an object, floating around and causing chaos. We’ve just gotta hope it ain’t fireproof.” Garth looked up at Gabriel. “That happened to me once. Had to be burned with a spell because it wouldn’t burn, otherwise.” Gabriel laughed at that.  
“You’re kidding?”  
“I wish I was. I almost died.” Garth replied. Gabriel grinned at him. They ate in silence while Garth finished the research. “Got it!” Garth exclaimed, startling Gabriel out of his chair.  
“A little warning next time would be great. What is it?” Gabriel grumbled.  
“A diary! We lucked out. Those go right up in flames. Unfortunately, it’s in a museum.” Garth explained. Gabriel gained a devilish grin that Garth didn’t like much.  
“Are we going on a heist?”   
“I don’t think there’s any other choice.” Garth said, resigned. Gabriel looked like Christmas came early and Garth was instantly worried. This would either go incredibly well or incredibly bad.

 

As it turns out, the heist went horribly. Garth had had his suspicions. The diary wasn’t even there, so there didn’t end up being a heist. They, thankfully, didn’t get caught on the way out, so that was a plus.   
Gabriel was driving this time.   
“What now?” He asked. Garth didn’t answer. He had no idea. That was when he caught sight of something outside his window. Near a lake, was a large, _moving_ fire.   
“Gabe, over there!” Garth shouted, pointing at the fire. Gabriel saw it and turned like a madman towards the lake. Sure enough, it was a person burning alive. Garth scrambled out of the car, towards the person. “Burn the diary!” Garth screamed. He tackled the burning person into the lake, extinguishing the fire, but not for long, he suspected. “Gabe!”  
“I found it!” Gabriel had the diary in his hands and soaked it in lighter fluid and salt, before lighting a match and burning the book. Garth saw a spirit materialize only to go up in flames. Garth examined the person underneath him. She was burned pretty badly, but if they rushed to the hospital, she would be fine. Garth picked her up and rushed back to the car.   
“We’ve gotta go!” He yelled at Gabriel, who went to the driver’s side. Garth laid the woman gently in the back seat before hopping in. They sped down the road, the nearest hospital being quite close.   
The rest of the encounter was a blur. Garth vaguely remembered the woman being whisked away inside the hospital, then himself being escorted to a room. He had sustained a few nasty burns while saving the woman. The next thing he was certain of, he was sitting on a hospital bed across from Gabriel. For a second, Garth could’ve sworn he saw wings behind Gabriel. They were beautiful, three of them on each side and colored a brilliant gold. He was certain he was hallucinating.  
“That was pretty badass.” Gabriel commented. Garth stared back, blankly.  
“What was?”  
“Tackling a burning woman to save her, taking charge like that. Badass in a way I didn’t think you were capable of.” Gabriel added. Garth laughed.  
“I’m a hunter. You’ll be doing the same type of thing soon.” Garth pointed out. Gabriel’s face fell.  
“Are you serious?”  
“Oh, yeah. Hunters get hurt constantly, almost die all the time. It’s hard, but rewarding.” Garth smiled. “Good job burning the book, by the way.”  
“Felt pretty lame compared to tackling a burning woman.” Gabriel smiled to show he was joking. Garth laughed. A companionable silence fell, both lost inside their heads. The image of the wings behind Gabriel’s back wasn’t going away, so Garth felt the need to ask.  
“Gabriel?”  
“Yeah?”  
“What did your wings look like?” Garth was almost afraid to ask. But Gabriel just grinned.  
“You wanna talk about badass, my wings are the most badass wings ever. I’ve got six, three on each side. They’re gold and they glow, which is awesome.” Garth was afraid of that. “Why?”  
“It’s nothing. Just curious.” Garth shrugged it off. Gabriel didn’t believe him, it was obvious, but he let it go.  
“Well, they’re gone, now, so I guess you’ll never see them for yourself.” Garth nodded.  
“Yeah, I guess.”

 

It was later the next day when Garth and Gabriel were back on the road, already having found another case in Indiana. Gabriel was asleep in the passenger seat, seemingly unbothered by the bumpy roads here and there. Garth, being incredibly bored, turned on the radio. It had just finished playing some pop song that had been on repeat for the past few weeks. When it turned to Heat of the Moment, Gabriel perked up. He smiled when he heard it. “I love this song, man. Turn it up.”   
Garth laughed and did as told, letting the song wash over him. Unable to help himself, Garth began singing along, much to Gabriel’s obvious surprise. Nevertheless, Gabriel joined in on the chorus. They harmonized surprisingly well.   
“ _It was the heat of the moment, telling you what your heart meant_ ,” They sang together, as loud as they could, nearly drowning out the song. It was pretty much just them on the highway, so it didn’t matter if they looked like fools. Gabriel started doing air guitar, making Garth grin.   
Who would’ve thought, Garth pondered. that a hunter and an archangel-turned-human would be doing karaoke together.  
He supposed life would forever remain a mystery. For now, however, he continued onto the next verse.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been five months since Garth had first found Gabriel in the backseat of his car. The time had been spent filled with hunts, crappy motel rooms, and more takeout than Garth had eaten in his life. Gabriel had a worrying obsession with sugar, and went through periods of maudlin behavior at being human, but other than that, he was fantastic to have around. Garth had never had a brother before. He wondered if this was what it felt like.   
Garth and Gabriel were down in Missouri after hearing about a weird death, but the minute Garth saw the car pull up at the crime scene, he knew it wouldn’t be a normal case. Sam and Dean Winchester stepped out of their Impala, just as Gabriel had turned away. They walked up to Garth and greeted him, jovially. “Hey, guys!” Garth said back. “I’ve got great news. I’ve got a hunting buddy.” Dean looked incredulous.  
“A hunting buddy? Who?”   
“Well, I’d recognize that voice anywhere! Heya, Dean-o! Keeping it tight?” Gabriel strolled up to the trio, swagger in his gait. Sam’s eyes widened to the size of bowls and Dean groaned, loudly.   
“I thought you were dead.” Sam said, confusedly.  
“I missed you too, Samoose. Not dead. I mean, I was, for a little bit there. I really _did_ sacrifice myself for you two jolly green giants. But, here I am.” Gabriel spread his arms wide to prove his point. Garth grinned at the Winchesters.   
“How did you two possibly meet?” Dean asked in disbelief.  
“I was dropped in the backseat of his car after reassembly.” Gabriel replied.  
“I pointed a gun at him.” Garth added, earning a glare.  
“I’m human now, so you can stop glaring at me. Even if I wanted to play a trick on you, the most I could do would be surprise ice water.” Gabriel shrugged, dejected. Garth patted his shoulder, comfortingly. Gabriel shrugged him off and went back to examining the crime scene.   
“He’s taking the transition to human pretty hard. If you could lay off him until he’s dealt with it.” Garth said, conspiratorially.   
“Sure, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Did I mention that he killed me over a hundred times?” Dean demanded. Garth knew that was coming.  
“Yes, he did. And he’s sorry, but it needed to be done to prove a point. If it helps at all, the number of lives he’s saved is higher than the number of times he killed you.” Sam’s face softened before Dean’s did.  
“He _did_ need to prove a point, Dean.” Sam said, soothingly. Dean grumbled for a moment.  
“Fine. I’ll lay off him for a while. But the minute he sucks it up and realizes that he’s human, for better or worse, I will be on his ass, giving him a hard time.” Garth put up his hands in surrender.  
“Absolutely. I expected exactly that. Now, come one. I think we’ve got a case to work.”

 

 _Barachiel listened, half-asleep, to the sounds of his brother’s voice. Gabriel always wove such intricate stories for his younger sibling’s amusement, and the sound of his voice was comforting to Barachiel. It always had been. “Gabriel,” Barachiel said, suddenly.  
“Mm?”   
“Your wings are beautiful.” Gabriel chuckled.  
“Thank you, Barachiel. But so are yours.” Barachiel drew in his wings, self-consciously. His wings were black obsidian, dusted with silver that mimicked stars. He would have much preferred the gold that his big brother had, or the shimmering multi-colored white of big brother Lucifer. Gabriel, seeing that Barachiel was still a bit insecure, began to sing. Gabriel and Lucifer had the loveliest voices of the angels. Barachiel hearing it, just for him, was special. But considering that his brothers always treated him like that, he didn’t think too much about it. It was just the way his brother was._  
“…Garth?” Gabriel’s voice was gentle this time, leading Garth to wake up easier. “Are you alright? You’re crying.”  
“Yeah, yeah.” Garth wiped his tears but they kept coming. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”  
“It didn’t sound like a nightmare.”  
“No, it was…it was a good dream. I think. I don’t remember much.” Garth sat up and tried again to stop crying. “What time is it?”  
“Seven in the morning.” Gabriel replied, no quips to follow it up. “Do you remember anything about the dream?”  
“I think I was…I was hanging out with my brother.” Gabriel smiled.  
“Well, that’s nice.”  
“I don’t have a brother.” Garth explained. Gabriel’s face fell immediately.  
“It’s bizarre that you would dream about one, than.”  
“Yeah, it is.” Garth sniffed, finally able to stop his tears. It was then that he finally realized the full extent of where he was. He was in a motel room the day after Sam and Dean had helped them with the Confederate ghost. Gabriel and Garth were on the road to Prentiss Island for a vamp nest.   
“Garth, can I tell you something?” Gabriel asked, quietly. Garth looked at him, puzzled, but nodded. “I was the youngest of my brothers. Until…until my baby brother came along.” Gabriel spoke about his brother with such love it was astounding.  
“What’s his name?” Gabriel smiled, sadly.  
“His name was Barachiel. I don’t know what he’s called now.” The name rang clearly in Garth’s mind. _Barachiel, Barachiel, Brachial._ It was familiar, as if he’d heard it a thousand times.  
“What happened to him?” Garth nearly whispered, somehow already knowing the answer.   
“He fell from Heaven. Became a human, like me.” Gabriel laughed, bitterly. “He probably doesn’t even remember me. When angels fall to Earth, they are given life as a human, without any knowledge of their lives as angels.” Garth nodded. “Garth?”   
“Yeah?” Gabriel looked at him with complete sincerity and almost…vulnerability?  
“You remind me of him. The same forgiveness, the same kindness…” Gabriel trailed off. Garth patted Gabriel’s shoulder, comfortingly. Gabriel smiled, softly and got off of Garth’s bed. “Go back to sleep.” And Garth obeyed, surprisingly quickly.


	5. Chapter 5

Gabriel was driving down the road, Garth half-asleep, when the car suddenly jerked, startling Garth fully awake. Gabriel had pulled over and was looking startled. He was breathing heavily. “What’s going on?!” Garth exclaimed. Gabriel pointed to the road where a man was walking over to them. The man wore a newsies-style cap and had a very kind face. He was holding a cooler in one hand.  
“He walked out onto the road all of a sudden. I-I didn’t see him coming.” Gabriel stammered. Garth got out of the car and walked over to the guy, who looked puzzled.   
“I’m sorry.” Garth said, quickly.  
“Nah, it’s fine, brother. You two alright?” The man responded in a thick Southern drawl.   
“Yeah, we’re fine. My friend Gabriel panicked a little bit, but he’ll live.” Garth smiled as if to prove his point. “I’m Garth.” Garth extended his hand and the man took it, shaking it slightly.  
“Benny.”   
“Nice to meet you, Benny. Can I ask you a question?”   
“Yeah, shoot.” Benny said. Gabriel got out of the car behind them and walked to join them.  
“What were you doing in the middle of the road?” Garth asked. Benny laughed, nervously.  
“That _is_ a long story. Where you two headed?” Benny asked, obviously changing the subject.  
“Prentiss Island.” Gabriel answered. Benny looked at the two of them closely.  
“You two hunters?” Benny asked. Garth was instantly on guard.  
“Are you?” He shot back. Benny half-smiled.  
“Somethin’ like that. I’m just comin’ from a meeting with the Winchesters.”  
“And you’re still alive? You’re good.” Gabriel approved. Benny laughed.  
“You’ve got a point.”  
“Well, we were just heading up to Prentiss Island for a nest of vamps.” Garth explained.  
“It’s too late. Dean and I just cleaned it out.” Garth nodded.  
“Alright, then. Thanks for that, by the way. Is there somewhere we can drop you? We _did_ almost hit you.” Benny considered Garth’s offer for a minute.   
“I don’t have anywhere to go.” Benny confessed. Garth smiled at him.  
“Then come with us!” He said. Gabriel glared at him.  
“A moment, please, Garth.” Gabriel snatched Garth’s arm and dragged him to the side. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to make Garth’s traveling band of misfits? Are you gonna ask a mangy stray cat to join next?” Gabriel hissed.  
“Gabriel, stop. It’s the right thing to do. Besides, could be good to have as many allies as possible.” Garth matched his volume. Gabriel frowned at his words.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Something big’s coming. I don’t know what it is, but I feel it in my gut. And I trust my gut.” Gabriel looked exasperated at Garth's words.  
“Fine!” Gabriel finally conceded. Garth walked back over to Benny and smiled.  
“Sorry about that. My friend is…temperamental.” Garth decided on.  
“Try smart!” Gabriel quipped.  
“So, what do you say? You wanna head on the road with two people who almost hit you with their car?” Garth joked. Benny laughed again, seemingly surprised.  
“You know what? You got yourself a deal. I got nowhere else to go, and you two seem like good people.”   
“I’ll go start up the car.” Gabriel grumbled. Benny and Garth followed him, striking up an easy conversation.   
“How do you two know the Winchesters?” Benny asked.  
“I’ve worked a couple cases with them, here and there. As for Gabriel, that isn’t my story to tell.” Garth pulled out a flask from his pocket, acting completely normal, and unscrewed it. Instead of taking a drink, however, he splashed some on Benny, who just looked confused. “Oh, good, you’re not a demon.” Garth restored his flask to its proper place. “Sorry. Just had to make sure.”  
“It’s all good.” Benny said it like it really was all good. Garth smiled and lead Benny to the car, where the other man got into the back, with Garth in shotgun.  
“Where to now?” Gabriel asked. “That was the only lead we had. Of course the Winchesters got there first.”  
“It wasn’t the _only_ lead we had.” Garth argued. Gabriel looked at him.  
“It wasn’t?”  
“Nah, there’s what I’m pretty sure is a werewolf down in Buffalo.”  
“Hearts missing?”  
“Three vics, animal attack, hearts gone.” Garth grinned. “Start driving.” 

 

As it turns out, Benny was good company and did quite well on hunts. He looked as though he’d done this a million times, and _liked it_. Garth never enjoyed hunting, he enjoyed the things that came with it. Saving people, the road trips across the country, the new people to meet. He didn’t have to enjoy the job to enjoy what came with it. But Benny? He _liked_ killing. And Garth would be lying if he said that didn’t scare him at all.   
Garth sat in the motel room alone. Normally, he’d be out with Gabriel, painting the town red. But not tonight. His head was ringing and he heard a high-pitched buzzing that made him weary.   
Benny had slinked off to God only knew where, leaving Garth here. Garth massaged his temples, trying to make the buzzing stop.  
The door to the room opened and Benny stepped inside.   
“You okay, brother?” He asked.  
“My head hurts. There’s this buzzing.” Garth slurred together the words. Benny seemed to get the meaning, though.  
“Buzzing? Pretty sure that ain’t good.”  
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a good thing.” Garth squinted up at Benny. The lights were too bright for him to see properly. “Where were you?”   
“Out. Grabbing a bite to eat. Woulda asked you if you wanted somethin’, but it was spur of the moment.”  
“It’s fine. I’m not hungry, anyways.” In truth, his stomach was churning, even though he hadn’t eaten since that morning. Benny gave him an odd look.   
“Do you need anything?” Benny asked, kindly.  
“I should just go to sleep.” Garth responded. “I’ll be fine.” Benny looked disbelieving, but let it drop. Garth stood from his chair and stumbled, the buzzing growing louder. He fell to the floor.   
“Garth?!” Benny shouted, running to his side. Garth was surprised he heard it, given how loud the buzzing was. He couldn’t even hear his own thoughts.   
Benny talking to him just above the buzzing was the last thing Garth heard before he passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

“So, he just passed out?” The voice broke through Garth’s sleep. It sounded disbelieving and vaguely familiar through the fog in his mind.  
“Yeah, that’s right. He said he was gonna go to sleep, collapsed in pain, then passed out. He mentioned something about high pitched buzzing. That ever happen before?” Another voice interjected.  
“No, I don’t think so. Not as long as I’ve known him.” A beat. “Then again, as far as I know, I’ve only known him for five months.” Said the first voice.  
“Longer than me.” Argued the second.  
Finally, with great effort, Garth opened his eyes and sat up, groaning. A pair of hands was on his shoulder instantly. Gabriel, Garth dimly recognized. To Garth’s immense relief, the buzzing had stopped.  
“What’s going on?” Garth asked, but it came out slurred, sounding much more like “Wha’s on?” Gabriel understood him, thankfully.   
“You passed out.”   
“Yeah, I got that.” Garth retorted, blinking fully awake.  
“You okay?” Garth looked over to Benny, who had spoken.  
“Fine. Just waking up.”   
This was a lie. He felt like the inside of a toilet. He was unsure why he felt that way, still puzzling over what had happened to him.   
“Is the buzzing gone?” Benny asked, concernedly.  
“Thankfully, yeah.” Garth looked up at Gabriel. “I wasn’t out too long, was I?”  
“Just an hour or so. What happened? In your own words, that is.” Gabriel replied, sending a quick, passive-aggressive glance to Benny.   
“I heard this super high pitched buzzing. It was bearable, even though it was giving me a headache. Then it suddenly went crazy, like a bunch of voices were talking all at once. I passed out from it.” He stood up and swayed, slightly. Gabriel steadied him. Garth looked between Benny and Gabriel, both of them with soft, concerned eyes. “I need to go throw up.” He stumbled unceremoniously to the bathroom.   
After he lost his innards, Garth washed off his mouth and stared in the mirror, water dripping from his chin. He made a sound that was something like a strangled shout when he saw it. Wings behind his back. Black feathers with silver dusting to make it look like the night sky.   
Someone banged on the door, hearing his distress.  
“Garth, you alright?” Gabriel’s voice came through. Garth thought about this for a moment.  
“Yeah, I’m okay.” He felt like he was losing his mind. But why would he let Gabriel know that?

 

Garth felt like he was hungover, but doubly so. It was hard for him to lay down because nausea kept coming every time he tried.   
Instead, he sat on his computer. Gabriel was asleep in the adjacent bed, and Garth had no clue where Benny was. He tended to do that. Just randomly disappear, not to be seen for several hours.  
Garth shut his computer, quietly, making a decision. He strode out of the room, grabbing his coat on the way, and shut the door gently behind him. He pulled on his jacket and started walking away. That was when he heard Benny’s voice. Garth hid behind a wall.   
“I’m doin’ good, brother. I met these two hunters…no, they don’t know.” Benny was on the phone, clearly. Garth should’ve walked out right then, but he didn’t have the courage. “And they ain’t gonna find out. I like ‘em…Garth and Gabriel…you think so?” Garth wondered who he was talking to.   
Garth gritted his teeth and walked into Benny’s line of sight. Benny noticed him, even in the dim lights the motel was casting off, and acknowledged him with a nod. Garth nodded back and walked out of the motel parking lot, all the while puzzling over Benny’s phone call.  
What did that mean? What weren’t Gabriel and Garth going to find out? Garth shook his head to stop these questions. It was Benny’s business, and his business alone. They didn’t know each other that well, anyways.  
Garth rubbed his quickly cooling hands together, blowing hot air on them in an attempt to warm them up. He shoved them in his pockets, looking around. The street was empty, that was unnerving, but it wasn’t unusual. Glancing down at his feet, he saw that one of his shoes was untied. He bent down to tie it, and when he righted himself, someone was standing in front of him.  
Garth stayed calm, glancing behind him. He was outnumbered. The woman in front of him was wearing a pantsuit as well as her scowl.   
“Barachiel. We’ve finally found you. The reappearance of your wings was…unprecedented, but it was helpful.” She said. There was that name again. _Barachiel._ Garth frowned.  
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. My name is Garth.” Garth said. Still, there was a tugging in his brain, like his mind was begging him for something, but he couldn’t identify what. The woman’s expression was blank, completely unreadable. Instead of saying anything, a gleaming silver blade slipped from her sleeve into her hand. Garth was quickly filled with adrenaline, and all he could think was how the woman kept the blade in her sleeve. A quick look behind him was all he needed to confirm that he was under attack. The man standing at his back had a blade identical to the woman’s.   
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Barachiel. And here, when you’re a weak human? I can easily kill you with my blade.” Garth looked for a way out.  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Can’t we just talk this out? There’s no need for weapons.” Garth suggested, lifting his hands in what was hopefully a soothing gesture. “I don’t know what this ‘Barachiel’ did, but you got the wrong guy. My name is Garth, I’m from Missouri, I hunt things that go bump in the night. I’m sure whatever Barachiel did was pretty bad, but don’t take your anger out on me.” The woman glared at him.  
“What Barachiel did? He _left us_. We needed our brothers, the Archangels, more than ever. But Gabriel was in the wind, and you _fell_. Because you committed the worst crime an angel could.”   
Garth realized that referring to Barachiel as a person separate from himself was a bad move. They obviously thought that they were the same person, so, for the sake of his skin, he rectified his mistake.  
“Alright, alright. What crime did I commit?” Garth asked, quickly. The woman sneered once more.  
“You created a Nephilim.”


	7. Chapter 7

“A Nephilim?” Garth had to scrape his brain for knowledge on Nephilim. When it finally came up, he was surprised. “You think I had a kid?”  
“We all felt it!” The woman lashed out. Garth tensed. “We felt the creation of the Nephilim! Of course, there were little things that lead to your fall, but fathering a Nephilim is the worst of it.”  
“I don’t understand how that’s a crime. I don’t understand how bringing life into this world is a bad thing.” Garth attempted to reason.  
“Nephilim are abominations! They could bring down Heaven!” The woman screamed. A rage Garth hadn’t known before, a rage that was likely not his own, surged up.  
“Or they could save it!” Garth shouted back, taking the woman by surprise. He wasn’t sure where the anger had come from, but it was overwhelming. And gone as quickly as it had come.   
The reality of the situation came crashing down on him. He was surrounded by two very pissed off angels who were convinced he was an archangel. This was bad, even by his standards. He wondered how he was going to get out of this. But every scenario he built ended in his death.   
He had to face facts. He was going to die because of a misunderstanding.  
“H-Hey!” A timid voice shouted. Garth and the two angels turned to look at who had spoken. It was a woman with bright red hair. “What’s going on?” She asked. The male angel growled.  
“Go away, little girl. This is none of your business.”  
“It is, too!” She protested. Garth admired her, but wanted her to go away. She’d only get herself hurt.   
The male angel advanced, but Garth refused to let that happen. He ran over to the angel and tackled him.   
“Don’t you dare!” He bit out between clenched teeth. Somehow, he was unsure how, he wrenched the gleaming blade free from the angel’s grasp and stabbed him. His eyes and mouth glowed, brightly, before falling dead.   
“Miss, run!” Garth shouted, looking up at the woman. But she wouldn’t move more than the halting steps backing away from the female angel. The angel was headed for Garth. He pulled the angel blade free from the man’s chest and stood protectively in front of the red-haired woman. The angel snarled, but vanished and Garth sighed in relief, after looking around to check that she was really gone.   
“That was…super badass.” Garth turned to face the woman. She looked terrified, but also exhilarated. Garth grinned at her.  
“Thanks.”  
“What was that all about, anyways?” The woman gestured, vaguely.  
“A very big misunderstanding. I’m Garth, by the way.” Garth held out the hand not holding the blade and the woman took it, shaking it.  
“Charlie.”  
“Well, Charlie, thanks for saving me.” Garth said. She gave a short laugh.  
“What? Me saving you? What did I do?”  
“You distracted them. Without that, I never woulda made it out alive. Are you hurt?” Garth asked, concernedly.   
“No, I’m fine. What about you?” Charlie replied, shaking her head.  
“Just a couple scrapes. I’ve had worse.”   
_Like getting burns from tackling a burning woman._ A voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Gabriel reminded him. It was true, he’d gotten a few scrapes from the pavement after tackling the angel. That seemed to be his first approach. Tackling.   
“Where are you staying? I can walk you back, make sure that everything’s okay.” Garth offered. Charlie grinned at him and started leading the way.  
“Do you like Tolkien?” She asked, suddenly.  
“I love Tolkien.”  
“I think we’re going to be good friends.”

 

By the time Garth returned to the motel room, the sun was up and a new number was in his phone. Charlie Bradbury was an amazing person. When he asked why she was unsurprised about the glowing that had come from the angel, she responded by saying that her former boss was a Leviathan. After that, the conversation was a lot less measured.  
When he opened the door, Gabriel was pacing the floor. The former angel looked at him.   
“There you are. Geez, what happened to you? You look like you got trampled at a ho-down.” Gabriel said, not pulling any punches. Garth frowned and looked in the mirror. He was dirty and there was a cut he hadn’t noticed on his cheek. There were heavy bags under his eyes. “Did you sleep at all last night?” Gabriel asked.  
“No. Couldn’t sleep. I went out for a walk and got attacked.”   
“By what?” Gabriel picked up a glass of water and took a sip.  
“Angels.” Garth replied. The glass in Gabriel’s hand fell to the floor, shattering.  
“ _Angels?!_ ” Gabriel exclaimed. “Angels attacked you?!”  
“Yeah. They kept calling me Barachiel. The Archangel. Can you believe that? Anyways, this girl, Charlie, came and helped me out. I walked her home then came back here.” Garth said. Gabriel was tense, eyeing him oddly. “What?”  
“What did they say about my brother?”  
“That he committed the worst crime. Fathered a Nephilim.” Gabriel flinched at the mention of 'Nephilim'. “Are Nephilim really that bad?”   
“No…it’s not that.” Gabriel didn’t elaborate, and Garth didn’t make him.   
Instead, he cleaned up the glass shards and threw them away. He then popped into the shower, to clean his wounds and get the sweat and dirt off his skin.   
He thought the entire time. The female angel’s words rang in his head. When he stepped out, he approached Gabriel. Benny had come in, and was currently reading a newspaper.  
“Gabriel.” Garth said, quietly. Gabriel looked up at him. “Am I Barachiel?” Gabriel’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to reply. That was when the world exploded.

 

When Garth opened his eyes again, his head was ringing and he struggled to remember what had happened. He was alone in what appeared to be a water well. He looked up and saw a gray sky. He scrambled to his feet, sloshing in the water.   
“HEY!” He screamed, just as thunder rumbled in the sky. He kicked the well in vain. His eyes scanned for loose stones, anything to use to help him climb. There was nothing. Still, he tried anyways. His hands scratched and bled, he couldn’t get leverage. Lightning flashed through the sky. “SOMEBODY, PLEASE! HELP ME!”


	8. Chapter 8

Garth took deep breaths in an effort to stay calm. He needed to examine the situation. He couldn’t remember what’d happened, but that didn’t matter. He needed to get out and find Gabriel and Benny.   
He searched for his phone, but he’d left it in the motel room. The storm was still threatening, but it hadn’t quite started, which meant there was a chance someone would be outside to hear him.   
“HELP!” He screamed. “I’M STUCK DOWN HERE! IS ANYONE UP THERE?!”   
“Hello?” A voice called down. Garth’s heart leapt for joy. Someone was out there.   
“YES! SOMEONE IS DOWN HERE!” Garth called up. A woman appeared at the edge of the well. “Oh, thank God!”   
“How did you get down there?” She asked.   
“I’m trying to figure that out! Can you help me?”   
“Oh, right!” She walked away for a few minutes and Garth was beginning to think she’d just left him down there. However, she returned and lowered a ladder down to him. Garth scrambled up the ladder and collapsed gratefully on the grass. “Come on. We should get out of the storm.”   
He followed her to a Victorian styled farmhouse. “You can go inside. I’ll put this up.” She walked over to the garage and Garth walked inside the house.   
It was homey and there was a crackling fire in the living room. A boy about the age of fifteen sat on the couch and looked up when Garth entered. Garth smiled and waved, nervously. Thankfully, the woman followed him inside and smiled at Garth. The teenager eased up upon seeing that his mother (that was obviously who she was) was comfortable with Garth in the house.  
“Thank you. I don’t know how long I would’ve been down there if you hadn’t helped me.” Garth said, earnestly.  
“Hey, it’s no problem. How about you go sit by the fire and warm up?” She suggested. Garth smiled at her.  
“It’s nice of you to offer, but I have to go find my friends. We got separated and I’m worried about them.” Garth insisted. The woman rose an eyebrow.  
“I found you at the bottom of a well. You need to recover. Besides, it looks like you’ve got a cut on your forehead. You need to treat that.” She said. Garth reached up to touch his forehead. His fingers came away bloody.  
“I’ve had worse.” He replied, honestly.  
“I’ll tell you what. You can call them. I have a phone if you don’t, or if yours is broken.” Garth could see that he wasn’t being offered a suggestion, it was an order.   
“Thank you. You’re being awful kind to a stranger you found.” The woman smiled. “I’m Garth, by the way.”  
“I’m Lisa, and that’s my son, Ben.” She said. Ben gave a nod of acknowledgement. Garth went over and sat by the fire, as he was told.   
“So, this is gonna be a weird question, but where are we?” Garth asked. Lisa laughed from what appeared to be the kitchen. Garth could hear a tea kettle whistling.  
“Considering what you’ve been through, it’s not that weird. You’re just outside Bloomington, Indiana.”   
“Indiana…same country I was in before, at least.”  
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Lisa asked, walking back into the room with a cell phone and a mug of tea. Garth took both, gratefully. He was shivering. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ben looking at him, interestedly.   
“I was in a motel with my friends about…what’s the day?”  
“The eighteenth.” Lisa supplied.  
“I’ve been in that well for two days?!” Garth exclaimed. He took a calming sip of tea, warming slightly. Ben’s eyes snagged on Garth’s hand. About a month ago, Garth had gotten the Anti-Possession tattoo on the back of his right hand.  
“I guess so.” Lisa walked out of the room, leaving Garth alone with Ben.   
“I’ve seen that tattoo before.” Ben spoke for the first time in Garth’s visit. Garth looked at his hand.  
“It’s a pretty common symbol.” _In the hunter community._ His Gabriel voice spoke up again, and Garth wanted to tell it to shut up.  
“No, it’s not.” Ben argued. “Where have I seen that before?” Garth shrugged. He unlocked the phone in his hands and tapped in Gabriel’s number. It rang six times.  
 _“You’ve reached the sexiness hotline. Can’t answer right now, I’m obviously busy, but leave a message and you’ll get some heavenly words in your ear.”_ Garth sighed. It was Gabriel’s (regrettable) voicemail. Garth had begged him to change it, but Gabriel had adamantly refused. Garth pressed end before calling Benny. Once again, it went to voicemail.  
 _“This is Benny. Leave a message and I’ll call you back.”_ Garth much preferred Benny’s message. Garth groaned, frustrated.  
“Who are you calling?” Ben asked.  
“My friends. Neither of them answered. Plan B.” Garth dialed Sam. He was more likely to pick up. Sure enough, after three rings, Sam answered, making Garth want to cry with relief.  
 _“Hello?”_  
“Sam! There you are! I’m so glad you picked up.”  
 _“Garth?”_  
“Yes. Listen, Gabriel and Benny are gone. I don’t know where they are, but they didn’t answer. One minute, we were all in a motel room, the next, I woke up at the bottom of a well.” Garth rushed out.  
 _“Wait, back up. Benny?”_  
“Yeah. He said he knew you two. Anyways, Sam, _I smelled sulfur._ I don’t know what happened, but I know what’s at work.”  
 _“Okay, got it. Where are you? We’ll come pick you up.”_  
“I’ll meet you in Bloomington, Indiana, sometime tomorrow.” Garth said, looking shiftily at Ben, who was pretending not to listen, but clearly was.  
 _“Right. Do you have any idea where they are?”_  
“I don’t have a clue.” This time, Dean’s voice came through the phone. Sam must’ve put it on speaker.  
 _“Well, we’ve got a meeting set up, and Bloomington is on one of the routes. Do you mind meeting Mrs. Tran?”_  
“Who?” Garth asked.  
 _“It’s a long story. We’ll fill you in. Sit tight ‘till we get there.”_ Dean said.  
“Thanks, guys.” Garth hung up the phone and set it aside. Lisa came back into the room. “How far is the city?” He asked.  
“About thirty miles. Why?” She answered with her own questions.  
“I need to get there by tomorrow.” Garth said.  
“In this storm?” Lisa asked, incredulously.  
“Yes, I do. And don’t offer to do anything else for me, I can’t involve you two any further than I already have. Thank you so much for helping me, Lisa, I wish I could repay you more. And, Ben,” Garth turned to the teenager. He found a spare piece of paper and scribbled down his number. He would retrieve his phone and his car once he got back his friends. “If you ever figure out where you’ve seen my tattoo, call me. You’ll have questions.” He handed the piece of paper to Ben and walked out of the house.  
The wind was whipping, the storm was picking up, but Garth currently didn’t care. All that mattered was figuring out where Benny and Gabriel were, and getting them back.


	9. Chapter 9

It had taken hours in the storm to reach the city, but when Garth did, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was sopping wet, his limbs were aching, and he was exhausted, but there was still work to be done.  
Garth walked the city, teeth chattering and legs protesting. When he finally heard the familiar sound of the Impala, he almost cried with relief. He climbed into the backseat when it slowed.   
The first thing that stuck out was another person in the seat beside him, who was staring at him, wide-eyed. The car took off as soon as Garth got inside.  
“Garth, man! Good to see you.” Dean said.   
“Y-Yeah, you t-too.” He really meant it. They were a sight for very, very sore and tired eyes.  
“You okay?” Sam asked, brow furrowed in concern.  
“I m-might be d-dying. Hypothermia.” He’d lost feeling in his hands about an hour ago.   
“Cas, you think you can help him?” Sam asked the other passenger. Cas nodded, mutely, and pressed his fingers to Garth’s forehead. Garth warmed up, and was significantly dried, but he was still tired.   
“Thank you. You’re Castiel, right?” Garth asked, smiling. Dean had mentioned the name once or twice. It’s not a name you forget. Castiel’s eyes widened further. But this time, he looked much more pained.  
“You…don’t know who I am?” Castiel asked in a deep, gravelly voice.  
“Have we met before?” Garth questioned. Castiel didn’t reply, simply sat back and stared out the window.   
Dean and Sam spent most of the ride explaining the full situation to Garth, who desperately needed the explanation. For the rest of the trip, Garth slept. He needed that, too. The only thing close to sleep he’d gotten in the past 72 hours was being passed out. He wasn’t sure that counted.

 

Garth was rudely awoken by someone shaking him. “What? What?” He asked, blinking into awareness. Dean was waking him.   
“It’s time to go, Sleeping Beauty.”  
“Lay off, Winchester. I’d like to see you get out of a well.” Garth grumbled, clambering out of the car. “Where are we?” They looked to be in front of an abandoned factory.   
“Where the prophets are being held.” Dean answered  
“So I didn’t get to meet Mrs. Tran.” Garth complained. Sam, Dean, and Cas all stood in a circle, waiting for him. They went into the factory together, in a line, with Garth at the back.   
Garth was worried about Gabriel and Benny, of course, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if he didn’t help the Winchesters now.  
When a guard demon appeared, the four of the hid seamlessly in the wall. It didn’t take long for Dean to run out and kill him, Sam on his heels.   
“I’ll check that way.” The taller man said, gesturing with his head for Garth to follow. Cas and Dean went in the opposite direction.  
Garth followed Sam down a flight of stairs as quietly as possible. Through the grate separating the stairs from the room, Garth could see four demons guarding a door. To Garth’s immense surprise, Sam walked right out in front of them. Yet Garth joined him. It was either Sam’s plan or a stupid move, but Garth would support it no matter the outcome.  
“Winchester.” One of the demons spat.  
“Looks like you got me.” Sam replied, nervous, but Garth could tell there was something brewing under the surface. The demons advanced and Sam pulled a large jar out of his jacket (how had he hidden that?). There was a split second where the demon’s face fell as he realized what it was. Garth still had no idea what it was. Sam threw it to the ground and it shattered, blowing the demons into nothing but scorch marks on the wall. Garth was glad he had ducked his head.  
“What was that?!” He exclaimed, still speaking quietly.  
“Demon-killing bomb.” Sam explained.  
“Bitchin’.” He commented, aloud. “I gotta get that recipe.”   
“I know, right?” Sam replied, grinning. They set off down another hallway and Sam kicked in the first door that he found. Garth wondered if that was strictly necessary, or if it was just to show off.  
The room they entered looked like a set on a horror film. There was a giant glowing table in the center of it, splattered with blood.   
“Oh, no.” Sam muttered what they were both thinking. Until a head poked out from beneath the table. People were hiding underneath the table and around the room. Sam lifted his hands in a non-threatening manner, like one would to a wounded animal. “Hey, we’re here to help.”   
From behind a wall, out stepped the last person Garth expected to see. He couldn’t stop himself from saying it. “Benny?” Garth exclaimed. Benny smiled.  
“Long time no see.”

 

After herding the terrified prophets out of the factory, Garth turned to Benny. Benny had been quiet throughout the entire process.   
“What happened, Benny? Why were you with the prophets?” Garth asked, in what was hopefully a gentle manner. He had no way of knowing for certain, he had been through a lot in the past week, alone.   
“I, apparently, was on the list of potential prophets. I think I was taken off when…well, it doesn’t matter.” Garth nodded. It was a bit hard to swallow, that Benny could’ve been a prophet of the Lord. But, Garth dealt with it as best he could. “What happened to you?”  
“Garth.” Sam called. He was standing with two people, one of whom was very likely Mrs. Tran.  
“I’ll tell you later.” Garth replied to Benny, before going over to meet Kevin and Linda Tran. “Hi. My name’s Garth. I wish we coulda met under better circumstances.” Garth said, smiling, gently.   
“Garth, I was hoping you could help them lie low for a while.” Sam said.  
“Oh, yeah, of course, absolutely. Anything I can do to help.” Garth replied. He really did want to help these people. “Just a warning, though. Someone I care about is still missing. I’m leavin’ you in good hands whenever I go out, but I gotta find this person.” Garth admitted. He wondered what happened to Gabriel. He was worried that he would never find the former angel at all. Or if he did, what state would he find him in?


	10. Chapter 10

He was on the road again, three days after getting the Trans settled into Garth’s houseboat. He’d almost forgotten he had one. He left them in Benny’s hands and set out looking for Gabriel. He had no idea where to even start.   
He headed for Indiana. That would be the best place to begin, considering that was where they last saw each other.   
When he was worried, Garth had a stress reliever that he never shared with anyone. A stuffed animal from his childhood. It was a dog he called Frisbee. Garth had always loved dogs, but his parents always told him no. They got him a stuffed one so that he wouldn’t be too sad. He made a vow to someday adopt as many dogs as he could.   
Frisbee sat on his lap, close to Garth’s stomach. He liked to pretend that he had a lap-dog asleep on him. It made him happy, at least. But even Frisbee couldn’t ease his worry.  
Gabriel had wormed his way into Garth’s heart so completely that Garth couldn’t imagine not being friends with him. Gabriel was like his brother. Which tied in with the question Gabriel had never answered. _Was_ Garth Barachiel?  
There was too much going on in Garth’s mind. Too many questions, not enough answers, too many horrible thoughts he shouldn’t be having. He turned on the radio. The first line of _Heat of the Moment_ played, and Garth turned it off. It did him no good to remember Gabriel when he was already so worried about him. It was at that moment that his phone rang.  
He’d gotten his phone and his car back, which was a relief. He answered the phone and immediately put it on speaker.  
“Hello?”   
_“Garth! I was a little worried you wouldn’t answer.”_ It was Gabriel.  
“Gabe! What happened? Are you alright?”   
_“I will be. Listen, Garthinator, you think you can come pick me up?”_  
“I’m actually out looking for you, now. Where are you?”  
 _“I’m in South Dakota. My phone survived, but I didn’t have a charger until just now.”_  
“Where in South Dakota?” Garth asked.  
 _“Sioux Falls.”_

 

Garth was nervous to go back to Sioux Falls. He hadn’t been since Bobby died.  
Gabriel told him that the Sheriff, Jody Mills, had taken him in until Garth got there. Garth knew Jody, he liked her quite a bit. He considered them friends.   
He pulled up to Jody’s house and knocked on the door. Jody answered.   
“Hey, Garth!” Jody greeted and hugged him. He hugged her back, eagerly. He loved hugs, and he couldn’t deny it. Having someone else instigate a hug was his kryptonite.   
“Hey, Jody.” Garth was grinning from ear-to-ear.  
“Come on in.” Jody invited after releasing him. He walked inside and followed Jody to her living room. Gabriel was on the couch, watching TV. He popped of the couch the minute he saw Garth.  
“G-mail!” Gabriel grinned at him, and Garth smiled back. He’d gotten used to, and ended up loving, Gabriel’s nicknames. Gabriel jumped up to hug him.   
“I’m glad you’re alright. I was real worried.” Garth told him, honestly. Gabriel let go of him and gave him a mockingly stern look.  
“Hey, come on, don’t get too mushy on me, G Train.” Gabriel lightly smack Garth’s face. “So, what happened to you? Where’d you wake up?”  
“In a well in Indiana.” Gabriel raised his eyebrows.  
“Wow. I was out for about three days, then I walked here. J Mills saw me and I’m pretty sure it was pity that made her take me in.”  
“It certainly wasn’t attraction, like you seemed to think.” Jody said, leaning against the entrance to the living room. Gabriel pointed at her.  
“Never say never, sugar.” Gabriel teased. Jody chuckled (or was it scoffing?) and walked in.  
“Garth, do you wanna have dinner before you head off?” Jody offered. Garth smiled. It had been too long since he had a home cooked meal.  
“If you’ll have me.”  
Jody sat them all down for a pasta bake with garlic breadsticks. It was so simple, but it made Garth tear up. He’d had too much fast food, too many crappy burgers and Chinese food. Too much diner food.   
“Garth? You alright?” Jody asked. Garth sniffed.  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” There was nowhere he’d rather be.

 

Gabriel and Garth hit the road that night. Garth’s hands were tight on the steering wheel. “You never got the chance to answer me.” Garth said.  
“‘Bout what?” Gabriel asked.  
“Am I Barachiel?” Garth questioned. Gabriel was silent. “Please tell me. I can take whatever you say, but not knowing is driving me crazy. I’d like to at least know whether or not the might of Heaven is after me.” Garth glanced over at Gabriel, who sighed in defeat.  
“I can’t say for sure, but I think you are. All the evidence points that way. And I’m not surprised you don’t remember Heaven, fallen angels who become humans usually don’t. It takes something big.” Gabriel answered. Garth nodded. It was all he could do.   
How did you respond to that? Someone, who was possibly your brother, tells you that you’re probably an Archangel, and you just respond with ‘okay, cool’? That wasn’t how life worked, unfortunately.   
“Are you alright with that?” Gabriel asked.  
“I don’t know. Do you think I _can_ be Barachiel?”  
“I think Barachiel died when he hit Earth for the first time. I think Barachiel was always Garth, he just needed to be on Earth to see it. Besides, I like Garth.” Gabriel smiled. Garth couldn’t help but smile back. “Really, I think the only thing that’ll change is the fact that you’re an angel. Garth is easier to say, anyways. Plus, ‘Barachiel’ is so hard to nickname in a clever way.” Gabriel said the last part with a wry smile. Garth laughed.  
“Alright, I think I can do this.” Garth paused. “Wait. Did I really create a Nephilim?” Gabriel’s face fell.  
“Yeah. You did. When I was an angel, I kept tabs on her. I can’t, anymore, but I did.” Gabriel said. Garth latched onto the one important word.  
“Her? I-I have a daughter?” Garth looked at Gabriel for as long as he could before he had to focus on the road.  
“Yes.”   
“What happened to her?”  
“I took her Grace.” Garth frowned, so Gabriel elaborated. “A Nephilim is a human soul with angel’s Grace. Take away the Grace, and you get a normal human child that the angels don’t even notice. She’s out there, living her life. At least, I think so. Last time I checked, she was.” Garth sighed in relief. He didn’t remember having a daughter, but he wanted to get to know her. It was an odd circumstance, but one he wanted.  
“What’s her name? So I can find her?”  
“She uses a lot of fake names, but her real name is Celeste Middleton.”


	11. Chapter 11

Garth dropped his keys on a table at his boat and sighed. Gabriel and Garth were finally home. All Garth wanted to do was eat something and go to sleep. He’d had a lot of information dropped on him. He was an Archangel, probably. He fell from Heaven. He probably had a daughter. It was a lot to take in all at once.  
He trudged to the kitchen, where he found Benny and Kevin, the latter of whom looked upset to be there. Kevin had gone downhill in the four days Garth was gone. He probably hadn’t slept in around 72 hours and looked like he hadn’t eaten much. Benny smiled at their approach, mixing some scrambled eggs. Garth’s stomach growled.  
“Hey, you found him.” Benny commented, referencing Gabriel.  
“I did.” Garth, through the mud in his brain, went over and hugged Benny.  
“Okay, hey, alright.” Benny said, not quite awkwardly, but not quite comfortably. Garth walked over to Kevin and hugged him.  
“Garth, what the hell?” Kevin complained, but didn’t pull away. Garth sat across from the prophet.  
“Where’s your mom?” He asked Kevin, barely noticing Gabriel sitting beside him, tipping his chair back and putting his feet on the table.  
“I sent her away, to keep her safe and focus on the Tablet.” The word of God. Garth’s father. That was bizarre to think about. “That reminds me, can I go?” Kevin asked Benny, who frowned.  
“Not until you eat somethin’. You haven’t eaten since yesterday, and that ain’t good for you. And after you eat something, you are gonna sleep for eight hours. And don’t you argue with me, son.” Benny scolded, just as Kevin opened his mouth. Kevin sat back in his chair and grumbled.  
“I thought I just sent away my mom.”  
“Hey, I’ll be your mother if it means you’ll listen to me and take care of yourself.” Benny turned to stare at Kevin, and Kevin stared back. It was like Benny was silently daring Kevin to protest more, and Kevin was debating whether or not protesting was a good idea. Kevin obviously decided that backing down was the better idea and broke eye contact. Benny set a plate of food in front of Kevin. “Clear that plate.” Benny ordered.  
“Yes, sir.” Kevin said back, mockingly. Garth smiled at the interaction. He could tell that Benny enjoyed taking care of Kevin. “I still don’t see why I shouldn’t spend as much time on the Tablet as possible. The Winchesters are counting on me. The _world_ is counting on me.”  
“Alright, first of all, the Winchesters don’t want you to be exhausted and distressed. I see the way those two treat you, you’re family to them. And you’ll be no use to the world if you dig yourself a grave.” Garth spoke up. “You gotta sleep. The world is not going to end in the eight hours it takes to get rested.”  
“It isn’t the apocalypse anymore, where that could’ve happened.” Gabriel added, helpfully.  
“Exactly.” Benny ended. Kevin raised his hands in surrender.  
“Fair enough.” He began to inhale his food, so much so that Garth was worried he’d choke.  
“You might wanna slow down there, buddy. How’s that for a headline? ‘Prophet of the Lord found dead after eating eggs’. What a way to go.” Gabriel said, earning a glare from Kevin. Garth couldn’t help but smile. This entire moment was precious to him. Domesticity, sort of. Who would’ve thought? Two prophets and two former Archangels sit down to breakfast. To Garth, it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke.  
Benny sat beside Garth, but moved a bit oddly around him. Like he was maneuvering himself so that he wouldn’t hit anything.   
“Benny, you alright?” Garth asked him, genuinely worried. Benny frowned.  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He didn’t sound like he believed his own words.

 

Garth watched as Benny stroked the head of a sleeping Kevin. He could tell that Benny had taken quite a shine to the young prophet, acting like a mother hen. It was a bit strange. Garth had no idea Benny could be like this.   
“It’s been a long time since I took care of someone.” Benny muttered, just audible over the hum of the boat. Garth smiled.  
“Yeah? When’s the last time you took care of someone?”  
“A long, long time ago.” Benny stressed. This made Garth very curious.  
“Benny, I won’t pry too much, even if the answer is insane. When were you born?” Garth asked, genuinely curious. Benny looked at him, oddly. It looked to be a mixture of sorrow, bitterness, and wistfulness.  
“You wouldn’t believe me.”  
“Alright, I’ll start. To prove that I’ll believe anything by this point. I’m a fallen angel.” Garth confessed. Benny stifled a surprise laugh.  
“Serious?”  
“Yeah. Just found out yesterday.” Benny’s look changed to examination at Garth's words.  
“And you won’t question me too much?”  
“Nope. We’ve all got our secrets. All I know is that you’re my friend, so I respect your privacy.” Benny half-smiled.  
“September, 1902.” Garth raised his eyebrows, but nodded. He wanted to ask how that was possible. But he didn’t. Like he said, he respected Benny’s privacy. It made quite a bit more sense for Benny to treat Kevin like a child, than. “So, you’re really an angel?” Benny asked.  
“Probably. I don’t know for sure, yet. But back in Buffalo, before we got separated, I was attacked by angels. They were saying my wings reappeared.” Benny nodded. “But I don’t see them. That’s the weird part, I don’t see my own wings.” Benny blinked.  
“I see them.” He said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. It wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world. No one else, except the angels, had even commented on Garth having wings. And there _would’ve_ been comments if he had been walking around with wings in plain sight.  
“You do?” Garth said, finally.  
“Yeah. I dunno how angel wings are supposed to look, but I like yours.” Garth smiled and ducked his head. It was flattering, even if he himself couldn’t see his wings.

 

It was a week later when Garth finally learned what it meant. It meant that Benny was, apparently, his soulmate. That was something Garth never anticipated. And it was another week later when Garth fell truly in love with his soulmate. Of course, the day he’d chosen to talk to Benny about this was the worst possible day. It was the day the boat burned down.


	12. Chapter 12

Garth hadn’t gotten any sleep. The sun wasn’t even up yet, but he couldn’t close his eyes. Garth turned over on his side, but he knew it wouldn’t help.   
He was ridiculously nervous. Earlier that night, he’d resolved to tell Benny in the morning. Tell Benny _everything_. It was a terrifying prospect. How did you tell someone that you were soulmates? Or that you had fallen madly in love with them?  
And it was true, Garth was head-over-heels. It had been two weeks since he’d returned to the boat with Gabriel, and in that time, Garth had really gotten to know Benny. He was kind and surprisingly gentle, despite having a tough exterior. Not to mention weirdly charming. And extremely attractive, but that was just a bonus. Garth would have fallen for the man even if he wasn’t attractive. He just _happened_ to be exactly Garth’s type. Though, if he was thinking about it, it wasn’t happenstance at all. It made Garth’s head hurt.  
Soon enough, Garth was glad he was still awake. He smelled smoke, and that was never a good thing.   
The smell was growing rapidly, so Garth ran out of the room. It was stronger outside, which meant only one thing: The boat was on fire.   
“Gabriel! Benny! Kevin! Fire!” He shouted as loudly as he could. He’d been in the well the last time he screamed that loudly. Benny soon came into his line of sight, Kevin slung over his shoulder, the prophet clutching the Tablet like his life depended on it. “GABRIEL!” Garth shouted. Gabriel walked groggily out of his room.  
“What?” He asked, grumpily. Garth snatched his arm and dragged him out of the boat, Benny on his heels.   
Once they were on the mainland, Garth looked back. He’d been quite fond of his boat. Now, it was engulfed in flames and sinking down into the ocean.  
“My bad.” Garth jumped at the new voice and turned to see a man. He looked to be in his forties, possibly, and was wearing a blazer with a v-neck shirt. “I swear, I didn’t mean to burn down the boat. It was an accident. I am at fault here.” He held a bottle of vodka in one hand and took a long drink. “At least I got you all out here!” Benny set down Kevin, who was still holding the Tablet, protectively.   
“Who are you?” Benny asked.  
“Oh, right, I forgot that bit. I’m Balthazar.”

 

Balthazar. Garth knew the name. He _remembered_ it. He remembered his baby brother well, and that was comforting. His days as an angel weren’t completely lost, if he could remember Balthazar.   
Garth walked forward and hugged him. Balthazar obviously hadn’t been expecting that, because he stumbled backwards. “Little brother.” Garth muttered. He pulled away, hands still on Balthazar’s shoulders. “What are you doing here?”  
“Looking for you.” Balthazar glanced back at the burning boat. “I do hope you’ve got a backup.”  
“I’ll figure it out.”   
“What is happening?” Kevin questioned, clutching the Tablet to his chest, looking close to rocking back and forth. Benny patted his shoulder, comfortingly. Garth walked over to him, noticing Gabriel greeting Balthazar, warmly.   
“This is gonna be hard to believe, but I was an Archangel.” Kevin looked surprised. “I’m not really, anymore. I fell.”   
“Were you ever going to mention this?” Kevin asked.  
“Probably?” Garth said, unsure.   
“That isn’t something that should have a question mark!” Kevin snapped. Garth sighed and stood from his kneeling position. He’d managed to rescue his phone as the boat was going down. Other than some clothes and a few plants, the boat hadn’t held anything important that Garth hadn’t grabbed before he fled. He kept his sentimental things in a bag in his trunk. Just in case something like this happened.   
Garth dialed the only person he could think of that might help. Dean. When the Winchester finally picked up, Garth sighed in relief.   
“Dean, I’m glad you answered. Listen, the boat burned down.”  
 _“It burned down?! Is everyone alright?”_ Dean asked, worried. That confirmed any thoughts Garth had. Dean hadn’t even mentioned the Tablet, he was worried about the people on board.  
“Yeah, we’re all fine. Just…homeless, now. You got any suggestions where we should hole up?”  
 _“…Actually, yeah. Me and Sam…a lotta stuff’s happened. Long story short, we have a bunker.”_  
“You have a _bunker_?” Garth asked, surprised.  
 _“Yeah. I’ll explain it when you get here. I’ll text you the details. We’ve got a lot of rooms, plenty to spare.”_  
“You think Sam is cool with it?”   
_“Yeah, man! You, Kev, and Benny, if he’s still rollin’ with you, you’re family.”_ Garth’s heart warmed at those words. It was dangerous to be family with the Winchesters, but Garth loved those two.  
“Gabriel’s not?” Garth joked.  
 _“Don’t push it.”_  
“Sorry. And thanks. We need the help. Also, I think we’ve got a new member.”  
 _“A new member?”_ At this moment, Balthazar took the phone from him.  
“Hi, Dean. Remember me? Your manservant?” Balthazar had to hold the phone away from his ear for what Dean said next:  
 _“SONOFABITCH!”_  
“He remembers me.” Balthazar said to Gabriel and Garth.  
“What did you do?” Kevin asked. Balthazar winked in response.  
 _“Balthazar! What the hell are you doing there?”_ Dean shouted, slightly lower, but still incredibly audible. Balthazar returned the phone to his ear after that.  
“I can tell you’re so glad I’m alive.” Balthazar droned, sardonically. After a few minutes of talking to Dean, Balthazar handed Garth the phone back.   
_“What are you doing hanging with Balthazar?”_  
“It’s…it’s a long story, one I’ll be glad to tell you.” A blast of fire came from the boat. “When my boat isn’t on fire.”

 

Garth had wrangled a station wagon. After forcing Balthazar to get to their destination the human way, they needed a bigger vehicle. Otherwise, it would get far too crowded, far too fast.   
Garth was driving with Benny in shotgun. All the way back at the back was Kevin, bent over the Tablet, and in the middle seat were Gabriel and Balthazar, engaged in light-hearted bickering. They weren’t listening at all. Which meant this was as good as a time as any for Garth to tell Benny.  
Perhaps it wasn’t appropriate, after everything that had happened. Perhaps it was perfect, after making Garth realize how easy it could’ve been to die that night.   
The sun was coming up. It would be probably another two days before the group would reach Kansas. If Garth wanted to say something before they reached the bunker, now would be his only chance. Benny beat him to the punch for conversation, however.  
“Garth, there’s something I gotta tell you.” Benny said, just audibly. Garth glanced over at Benny, who was studying his knees intently.  
“Yeah?” Garth asked, looking back at the road. He barely noticed the other conversation dying down. His heart was beating too loudly, his blood was rushing in his ears.  
“I think…I _know_ I’m in love with you.”


	13. Chapter 13

Garth nearly swerved off the road.   
“No way!” Gabriel exclaimed.  
“Now, this is interesting.” Balthazar said.  
“What?” Kevin asked, genuinely confused. This all happened in rapid succession.   
Garth took a few calming breaths as the backseat died down. He waited for complete quiet before responding.  
“You…you love me?” Garth asked, hardly believing it.  
“I do. I understand if it’s unrequited-” Benny began.  
“No!” Garth said, too quickly. “No.” He said, slower and quieter. “It’s not unrequited. It’s very requited.” _Sound like more of an idiot, Garth._ The voice in his head that sounded a bit like Kevin told him. “Can I try that again? That sounded really stupid.” Garth didn’t wait for Benny’s answer. “I love you. And there’s something else.” Garth said, before he could regret it, without looking at Benny. “You can see my wings when no one else can. That means somethin’.”  
“I’m your soulmate. I already knew.” Benny supplied. Garth forced himself to look at the road. The temptation to look over was there, but he resisted. “Talked to Gabriel.” Benny explained.  
“And you’re still around?” Garth joked. Benny laughed.  
“I am.” Benny agreed. Garth couldn’t stop smiling, even as the angels in the backseat ‘awwed’.  
“Shut up, I’m trying to read!” Kevin said from the backseat, annoyed. Garth laughed. Gabriel and Balthazar ignored this.  
“I think I gotta get a camera to capture this forever.” Gabriel said, fake crying.  
“Truly, this is the most adorable thing.” Balthazar interjected.  
“What Kevin said: shut up.” Benny scolded, but he didn’t seem too mad. Though his own ears were turning red, Garth didn’t mind too much, either. The angels dissolved into muffled giggles and Garth rolled his eyes.  
“Sorry about my family.” Garth apologized, earnestly.  
“Nah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Benny said.  
And Garth didn’t worry about. Especially not when Benny took his hand across the seat.

 

Almost exactly according to Garth’s calculations, they arrived at their destination in two days. It was an abandoned gas station, not exactly what Garth expected from a super secret bunker.   
Garth stepped out of the car, as did the others. All except Kevin, who was still reading the Tablet. As usual, Garth hugged both of the Winchesters upon reaching them.  
“Hey, Garth.” Sam greeted as he was hugged. He was anticipating it, obviously. When Dean was hugged, he hugged back. It was surprising, and Garth wondered if everything was alright with the Winchesters.  
“This is your bunker? A gas station?” Gabriel asked, an eyebrow raised.  
“No.” Dean bit out. Sam, although he obviously distrusted Gabriel the slightest bit, was a bit kinder. They _had_ worked together back in Missouri, and Sam likely understood that Gabriel was helping people.  
“Our bunker is this way. We just couldn’t risk giving the coordinates out over the phone, in case anyone was listening in.” Sam said, kindly, eyeing Balthazar, who gave a lazy grin.  
“Where’s Kevin?” Dean asked.  
“In the car. He hasn’t moved since this morning.” Garth answered.   
“I’ve made sure he’s not starvin’ himself and the like, but he’s single-minded.” Benny added. Sam’s eyes turned cold.  
“ _You’re_ taking care of Kevin?” Garth couldn’t understand the vitriol in Sam's voice. Benny was among the kindest people he’d ever met, he couldn’t understand how anyone could be cold to him.  
“I am.” Benny replied, completely neutral.  
“And you’re okay with this?” Sam directed towards Garth. Garth frowned.  
“‘Course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”   
“Because of what Benny is.” Sam said, angrily.  
“And what is he, Sam?” Garth asked, unusually argumentative. He was protective over Benny, rightfully so. Sam blinked at the sudden change in tone. In fact, everyone in the group was surprised at Garth’s harsh tone. “Because, I gotta say, I haven’t noticed anything wrong with him.” From the corner of his eyes, Garth could see Benny giving him an odd look. Like Garth had hung the moon. Sam quickly recovered.  
“You’re kidding, right?”   
“Okay, man, you’re takin’ this too far.” Dean said, putting his hand on Sam’s shoulder. Sam shrugged him off.  
“Benny is a _vampire_.” Sam spat. The information sent Garth reeling. Garth wanted to believe Sam was just saying that, but Garth couldn’t believe the Winchesters would lie to him about this. He couldn’t deal with it at the moment. He decided to do the only thing he could.  
“And I’m an Archangel. I’ll follow you to the bunker.” Garth spun on his heel and walked towards his car. The others soon joined him. Kevin had barely noticed they’d left. Garth’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he followed the Impala to their destination.   
“Garth? Say somethin’.” Benny said, back in his position at shotgun.  
“Where do you get blood?” Garth asked. It was the only thing he could process.  
“Animals, mostly. When I can wrangle it, bagged blood. Never fresh. Ever.” Benny said, earnestly. Garth believed it.   
Now that everything was on the table, Benny had no reason to lie. Besides, it fit. No missing persons around the area where they’d come from, many dead animals turning up with their throats ripped out, Benny’s color. Vampires always looked the best when they ate fresh. While Benny looked good, meaning he’d been eating as often as possible, he wasn't as colorful as vampires with fresh blood in their system. Garth nodded.  
“I get why you didn’t tell me right off. I’m a hunter, I woulda killed you.” The thought made Garth sick. Even with this new piece of information, he couldn’t imagine Benny dead, especially not by Garth’s own hand. “But why didn’t you tell me after we were close? I could’ve been able to tell you were one of the good guys, even before you said you loved me.”  
“To be honest, I’m not sure. Guess I was scared.” Benny muttered the last part, but Garth picked it up.  
“So. You’re a vampire.”  
“I’m a vampire.” Benny agreed. Garth’s mind was working overtime.   
“How did you ever get on the Winchesters’ good side?” Was the only thing Garth could ask. Benny hesitated before sighing.  
“Dean went to Purgatory, as you probably knew. I was already there.” Benny confessed. Garth frowned, confusedly.  
“Wait. You were dead?”  
“I was. Past sixty years in Purgatory.” Benny concluded.   
Garth took a deep breath. Sixty years. That would explain how Benny had been born in 1902. Silence fell over the cab. Even Gabriel and Balthazar weren’t talking. Finally, Garth asked something he honestly hadn’t expected to come out of his mouth.  
“When in September?”   
Benny was confused and taken aback.  
“Pardon?” He blurted  
“September. That’s when you said your birthday was. When in September?” Garth was showing that they would eventually be okay. They’d have to be. They were soulmates. Benny smiled.  
“The fifteenth.”


	14. Chapter 14

When they arrived at the bunker, Garth was amazed. The Winchesters’ new home was impressive, to say the least.   
“Sweet digs.” He commented, aloud, walking down the stairs. Dean was smiling at the praise.  
“Where’s Kevin?” Gabriel asked. Garth turned around on the last step.  
“I’ll get ‘im.” Garth trekked out to the car after answering and found Kevin still hunched over the Tablet. “Kevin? We’re here.” Garth said. Kevin didn’t appear to hear him. “Kevin?” Garth tried again.  
“I GOT IT!” Kevin shouted, suddenly, startling Garth. He finally looked up and grinned when he saw Garth. “I got it.” He repeated, quieter, but with a manic glint in his eyes. “Where are the Winchesters?” He asked.  
“Inside. Got what?” Garth questioned. Kevin ignored him and got out of the car, nearly jogging into the bunker. Garth was at his heels, ready to catch Kevin if he fell. The prophet was swaying, dangerously.   
“Dean, Sam! Benny, good, you’re here, too! Listen, I did it.” Kevin rushed out.   
“Whoa, whoa, Kev, slow down. Did what?” Dean asked. Kevin grinned, still looking a bit manic.   
“ _It._ I deciphered part of the Tablet.” 

 

So, Kevin explained to them about the Trials to close the gates of Hell. The minute after he stopped talking, he fell asleep on the table. Benny picked him up and took him to a spare room. Balthazar flew off to God only knew where, Gabriel set off to explore the bunker, supervised by a very irritable Dean. That left Sam and Garth alone. Sam kept sending Garth looks, like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.   
“If there’s something you wanna say, you _can_ say it.” Garth prompted.  
“Why do you trust him?” Sam asked, incredulous.  
“Trust who?” Garth already knew the answer to his question, but he asked, anyways.  
“Benny.” Sam spat the name, violently. He clearly despised Benny. “He’s a monster, and he’s obviously been lying to you. So why are you trusting him, and letting him go off with Kevin?” Garth closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, so it took a moment to compose himself. He stood up, and Sam frowned at him. He popped his knuckles.  
“Sam, I care about you, I really do. And I know you’re a good guy. Which is why I’m sorry for this.” Garth said, as calmly as he could manage, before punching Sam in the face. Sam fell backwards in his chair from the impact.   
“Garth, what the hell?!” Sam exclaimed, slowly righting himself, rubbing his face.  
“If I didn’t do that, I would’ve built up some real hatred for you. Like I said, I care about you. But I care about Benny, too. Look, I don’t know what happened to make you hate him so much, but you should get over your issues. He’s a good guy.” Sam righted his chair and sat back down. “Besides, hate makes you miserable. So, I’m gonna tell you something that I think you need to hear, that doesn’t just apply to Benny: _get over it_.” Garth said. He gave Sam a smile. “I’ll get you some ice.” Garth began to walk out of the room.  
“Hey, Garth?” Sam called after him. Garth turned and looked the taller man in the eye. “You throw a mean right hook.” Garth grinned.  
“Thanks.” And he turned out of the room, searching for some ice.   
Directly outside of the room was Benny, leaning against the wall. Garth smiled at him. He was getting over his anger. He’d said once before that he didn’t hold onto anger, and it was true. It would be a while before he could completely and totally trust Benny, but he would get there.   
“Thank you.” Benny said. He didn’t say as to why he was thanking Garth, but he didn’t need to. Garth understood. Garth just embraced him, getting a whiff of Benny’s scent. He kissed Benny’s cheek before pulling away.  
“Do you know where the kitchen is? I’m getting him ice.” Garth jerked his head in Sam’s direction.  
“I can smell some food a few halls down.” Benny pointed him in the vague direction and Garth thanked him.   
But just as Garth was beginning to walk away, Benny caught his arm and pulled him close, giving him a proper kiss on the mouth. It was better than Garth had dreamt it would be. And it was rudely interrupted by none other than Dean.  
“What the _fuck?!_ ” 

 

“Will someone explain to me what the _hell_ is going on?!” Dean exclaimed, drawing Sam’s attention. The tall man walked out of the room, a bruise forming on his cheek. By this point, Garth and Benny had pulled apart, sheepishly. “And what happened to you?!” Dean shouted at Sam.  
“Garth, man. Don’t piss ‘im off.” Sam answered.   
“What _is_ all the shouting about?” Balthazar asked, suddenly reappearing in a fluttering of wings.  
“Benny and-and-and-and Garth! They were making out all over the place!” Dean shouted, with very sweeping arm gestures.  
“Wait. They were making out? That explains the right hook.” Sam commented.  
“Oh, he punched you! Delightful. This is a juicy group, I must say.” Balthazar interjected. Gabriel walked into the room, taking in the utter chaos the four of them were causing.  
“Why’s everyone screaming?” Gabriel asked.   
“Benny and Garth were making out.” Sam said. Garth seriously considered curling into a ball and rocking himself back and forth. It was highly appealing at the moment.  
“That’s old news, Samsquatch.” Gabriel replied.  
“You knew about this?!” Dean shouted, still looking slightly panicked.  
“Yeah. Don’t tell me you didn’t see the heart eyes. I knew you were unobservant, Dean-o, but even a blind man could see it.” Gabriel countered. The floor was oh so appealing to Garth.  
“Everyone, just calm down.” Benny, ever the peace-maker, added. “First of all, Dean, what does it matter what I do?” Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally finding the right words.  
“What about Andrea?” Dean asked, quieter. Benny flinched.   
“So, what? I can’t like both?” This time, it was Dean’s time to flinch.   
“Alright, I guess I’ll explain.” Garth took over. “I’m in love with Benny.” Dean’s eyes popped.  
“ _Love_? It’s love? When did that start?” Thankfully, Dean’s volume was under control by now. Gabriel snorted.  
“Couple thousand millennia ago. When dear ol’ Dad made Benny for Garth.” Gabriel answered.  
“Wait, what?” Sam interjected once again.  
“Oh, right. Garth’s an Archangel. Former.” Balthazar explained for Garth.  
“Okay, lemme get this straight. You’re in love with him?” Dean said, addressing Garth. Garth nodded. “And you, you’re in love with him?” Dean turned to Benny.  
“Completely.” Benny answered, not missing a single beat. Garth’s heart did a flip. Dean talked to Garth, next.  
“And you’re an Archangel? Or, _were_ an Archangel?”   
“That’s right.” At Garth’s words, Dean turned on his heel and stomped away.  
“I’m going to bed!” He shouted over his shoulder. And with that, Dean was gone.  
“Don’t worry, he’s just processing. He’ll get used to it.” Sam told them, gently.  
“Yeah, I figured.” Garth replied.  
“And, Benny. I don’t trust you, I’m not sure I ever will, but I’m sorry about how I’ve been treating you. And I’m sorry that it took a punch in the face for me to realize that I was being a dick.” Sam said. Garth nodded, approvingly.   
It was a start.


	15. Chapter 15

As the Trials went underway, and the group in the bunker went out on hunts, Dean forgot to be coping with the knowledge that two of his best friends were in love. He cornered Garth one night and said, in his own very hesitant words, that he approved. Other than those little hunts and Kevin deciphering the Tablet, it was two weeks before anything noteworthy happened.  
The Winchesters were off having their own adventures while Benny, Garth, and Gabriel were getting back from a hunt. Balthazar was babysitting Kevin, under very strict instructions from Benny.   
Garth pulled up to the bunker and was about to get out of the car when Benny’s phone rang. Intrigued, Garth sat where he was while Benny answered.  
“Hey, Dean.” Benny said. He was silent for a long moment before solemnly nodding his head. “I’ll meet you there.” Benny hung up and put his phone away. “You two should go to the bunker. I got somethin’ to take care of.” He looked at Garth, almost sadly. Gabriel got out of the car without protest, but Garth stayed put. “Garth?”  
“No. I’m not leaving. That sounded bad. And if it’s bad, I’m helping.” Garth argued. Benny opened his mouth to protest. “No. I don’t care what it is. I’m helping. I’ll find a way.” Benny caved.  
“Dean needs my help. He needs me to go to Purgatory and get Sam back.” Benny said. Garth had memories of what Kevin had said the second Trial was. Rescuing an innocent soul from Hell. Garth quickly put two and two together.  
“He’s going to kill you?” Garth asked, incredulous. Benny sighed.  
“Yeah. But don’t worry, there’s a way to bring me back.”  
“I remember. A portal in Purgatory.” Garth said, despondent. “Where are we going?” 

 

Garth pulled up alongside the Impala and clambered out of the car, getting out at the exact same time as Benny.   
“Garth, what’re you doing here?” Dean asked, surprised. Garth didn’t answer and stayed where he was.  
“I tried to tell ‘im to stay, but he’s too stubborn.” Benny said. “Part of his charm, I guess.” Garth gave a slight smile.   
While Benny and Dean began to talk about what needed to be done, Garth was on the verge of a breakdown. Even if it was only temporary, it was too much. It was leading him to have a panic attack. And Garth didn’t get panic attacks.   
Unsure if Dean or Benny even noticed him, he pushed himself off the car and ducked behind a wall, sinking down to the ground. He put his head between his knees in an effort to calm down. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt hands on his knees and looked up to see Benny.  
“It’ll be alright, Garth. I’ll be back before you know it.” Benny soothed.  
“I always know when you’re gone.” Garth said, slowly, hoping to trick his heart to slow to a normal rate. Benny fixed him with a sad gaze and gave him a hug.   
“Don’t worry about me, Garth. I’ll be fine. I’m just helpin’ Sam out.” Garth nodded at the words. He understood perfectly well what was going on and that Benny would be back, that wasn’t the problem. Benny, seeing that Garth was no longer hyperventilating, gave him a kiss on the head before walking back to join Dean.   
The wall Garth was leaning against was more stable than he was at the moment, so he went limp against its side and listened to the conversation.  
“If you want nothing to do with this, I completely understand.” Dean said, voice wavering. Benny whistled, lowly.  
“Wow. When Dean Winchester asks for a favor, he’s not screwin’ around.” Benny replied, feigning almost playfulness.  
“Benny, sending you back there is the last thing I ever wanted to do.” Dean sounded like he meant it.  
“I know, I know.”  
“But my little brother’s stuck down there.”  
“This’ll be the little brother that will kill me at the first sign of trouble?” Benny confirmed. Despite the situation, Garth let out a little chuckle, not even audible to anyone but himself.  
“You got access to the place.”  
“By access you mean, gettin’ beheaded?” Garth flinched.  
“Yeah, you’re right, it’s too much. It’s not like I’ve exactly been there for you, lately.” Garth wasn’t quite sure what Dean meant. Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking clearly, so he couldn’t see the obvious.  
“What? Oh, come on, Dean. You know I love a challenge.”  
“You serious?” Dean sounded like he almost didn’t believe it.  
“Hey. He’s your brother. I say, let’s do this.”  
“I owe you.”  
“You don’t owe me, nothing. Truth is, I could use a break. From all this.”   
Garth’s heart broke in two.  
“Has it really been that tough?”  
“I’m not a good fit, Dean. Not with vampires, and for sure not with the humans. I don’t belong. After a while, that starts to weigh on you.” Benny gave an almost bitter laugh. “Right. Cry me a river, like you need to listen to this.”   
Garth tried to see it from Benny’s point of view, tried to see how hard it must be when you were given new life in a century you knew nothing about. It stung, that Benny didn’t feel that he belonged, even with the strangest group of people on the planet, but he could see it. If he was being honest, Garth wouldn’t feel like he belonged, either.   
“Well, when you get back up here, we’re gonna fix all that, okay?” Dean’s words planted the seeds of an idea in Garth’s mind.  
“When I get back…” Benny trailed off, and for a moment, Garth thought that Benny was planning to stay in Purgatory. Garth didn’t know what he would do if that happened.  
“You’ll find the portal and you ride outta Purgatory just like you did with me. Okay? As soon as I send you back, I’m gonna haul my ass up to Maine and I’m gonna be there for you when you get topside.”  
“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a plan, chief. Let’s get on with it.”  
“You sure about this?”  
“Not my first rodeo, mate.” Garth could hear Dean draw a blade and had to fight to keep himself in place. He then heard what sounded like a hug. “Come on, you wimp!” Benny goaded, halfheartedly. Garth could tell it was hollow.   
The next thing Garth heard was the sound of a blade cutting through flesh and two thumps onto the ground. He choked on a sob he bit back. He stood from his position, still bracing himself against the wall, as his legs were shaking.   
Dean looked up at Garth and his eyes grew wide. He rushed to Garth’s side and stopped him from going any further. “You don’t wanna see this.” Garth fixed Dean with his best glare.  
“Dean.” Was all he had to say before Dean stepped back and allowed him to go forward.   
When Garth saw the body, _Benny’s_ body, he couldn’t hold it back any longer and let out a sob. But, he forced that to be the end of it. He viciously swiped his tears from his face and turned to Dean. “We got work to do.” Garth said, purposefully blank.  
And so, the pair of them set to work, wrapping up Benny’s body and putting him in the backseat of the Impala. He would be all ready when they reached Maine and had Benny’s soul back.   
Without saying a word, Garth sat in the front seat of the Impala. He could’ve gone alone, but he knew himself better than that. He couldn’t be on his own, otherwise, who knew what he would do?   
If Dean had any thoughts about this, he didn’t comment.

 

Garth’s head was leaning against the window, watching as Dean sped his way to Maine. He was lost in his own head, so he didn’t really see the landscape flashing by. Through his tidal wave of thoughts, something Sam had said to him weeks ago rang in his head, clear as a bell.  
 _“You know, when Dean came back from Hell, he was technically a virgin for a while.”_  
Sam had been falling down drunk when he said it, but Garth had remembered. And it gave him an idea.  
“Sam mentioned something, once.” Garth’s voice obviously startled Dean, but the other man quickly recovered.  
“What did he mention?” Dean asked, not seeming very curious.  
“A cure for vampires.” Garth answered. Dean obviously saw Garth’s train of thought.  
“Garth, I don’t think that’ll work on Benny. He’s had human blood, and it only works on vamps who haven’t had human blood yet.”   
“Not when he comes back, he hasn’t.” Garth argued. Dean’s face morphed into one of thoughtfulness. “Look, he’s…” Garth swallowed, thickly. “He’s dead. But when he comes back to life, it’s like rebirth, right? So, in his new life, he hasn’t had any blood.” He pointed out. Dean took on a look of realization.  
“Garth.”  
“Yeah?”  
“I had no idea you were so smart.” Dean sent him a half-smile, one which he returned. “But, even if that could work, we don’t have some of the ingredients. We need blood from the sire.”  
“You’re forgetting that we have an angel who doesn’t like rules and isn’t working for Heaven.” Dean paused for a moment.  
“ _Balthazar_? You trust _Balthazar_ with this?”  
“I’d trust him with my life, Dean.” A silence hung over them for a moment before Dean nodded.  
“Alright. I got the recipe in my bag. But we’ve gotta hurry. If we don’t get that cure in Benny before he drinks human blood, it’s all for nothing.”


	16. Chapter 16

Garth called Balthazar to them and, within seconds, he was sitting in the backseat of the Impala.   
“Balthazar! I’m so glad you’re here.” Garth said.  
“Yes, well, I live to serve.” Balthazar replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.  
“We don’t have time for this. Look, I need your help, and I’m not above begging for it.” Garth turned in his seat so that Balthazar could see he was serious. It took a long moment of Balthazar simply staring at him before he sighed and nodded.  
“Alright, _fine_. I’ll help you. But if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t do it.. What do you need?” Balthazar’s answer made Garth grin.  
“In Dean’s bag, there’s a recipe for a cure for vampires. It needs some ingredients that we don’t have.” Garth was about to continue, but Balthazar cut him off.  
“And you need me to get those ingredients?”  
“Please, Balthazar. You’re all I’ve got.” Garth said, earnestly.   
It was true. With Gabriel as a human, Castiel gone AWOL, and all the other angels brainwashed by Heaven, according to Balthazar, the drunken angel in the backseat was Garth’s only hope.   
Balthazar responded positively to Garth’s words and flew out of the Impala.  
“You think he’ll pull through?” Dean asked.  
“I know he will.” Garth said, more confident than he’d felt all day.

 

As Garth had predicted, Balthazar had pulled through. Arms laden with ingredients, he sat patiently as Garth and Dean whipped up the cure. How Balthazar had managed to get the blood of Benny’s maker, Garth would never know, and he was frankly scared to ask. Balthazar was unorthodox, especially for an angel.   
After the cure was prepared and tucked safely into Garth’s jacket, Balthazar flew away as the two hunters ran through the woodlands in Maine.   
They wandered until Garth could barely remember where they had come in. They seem to have found the right spot, though, as there was a near-blinding flash of light not far from them.  
Seconds after the flash, Garth saw a figure crawl out of the source of the light. Sam. As soon as Dean realized that it was his little brother, he pulled the taller man into a hug, which Sam reciprocated. Garth beamed at the pair. He knew adding to the hug would be awkward, so he just stood by and waited. When Dean pulled back, he said something in true Dean fashion:  
“Purgatory, right? A real garden spot, ain’t it?”   
Sam had the ghost of a smile on his lips.  
“Yeah.” He was breathing heavily, as though he had ran a great distance.  
“Did you get ‘em out?” Dean asked, voicing Garth’s thoughts. Dean had explained that Sam was rescuing Bobby from Hell, and for that, Garth was thrilled.  
“Yeah, yeah. I got both of ‘em.” Garth let out the breath he had no idea he’d been holding, and Sam finally acknowledged he was there. “I thought…for a second, Benny wasn’t coming back. But…he came back for you.” Garth couldn’t help it. He surged forward and grappled Sam in a hug.  
“Thank you for bringin’ him back to me.” Garth whispered, just loud enough for Sam to hear. Dean let out a whoop of joy. When Garth let go, Dean spoke again.  
“How’d Bobby hold up down there?” He asked.  
“He’s good, all things considered. Ornery as hell, though.” Dean smiled.  
“As he should be.” There was a pause. “Let’s put that old man where he belongs.” Garth smiled, too. Bobby didn’t deserve to be in Hell.   
Sam rolled up his sleeve, revealing his arm, which was…glowing. That was odd. Sam pulled out the demon knife and set it just above his arm before cutting in. He said a few words, most of which, Garth didn’t catch. He had a feeling that it was a ritual.  
A glowing blue orb burst forth from Sam’s arm, hovering over them for a moment before heading upwards. It was Bobby. Garth let out an amazed laugh. It was high up in the air before it turned black.   
“The hell?” Dean said, summing up all of their thoughts.  
“Hello, boys.” All three of them jumped at the sound of a British voice. They looked down and Garth vaguely recognized the person who had spoken as Crowley. Crowley was looking up at the soul. “Bobby Singer. I’d know you anywhere.”  
“Let him go, Crowley.” Dean said. “He doesn’t belong in Hell.”  
“He does if I say he does.” Crowley replied, without missing a beat. “He’s inflicted untold damage on my kind. From where I sit, actually, Hell’s too good for him.” The Winchesters surged forward, Garth with them. There was no way he’d let Crowley take Bobby back. “Really?” Crowley asked, almost put upon, before waving his hand. The three of them were sent flying backwards, pinned to trees. Garth’s vision erupted in black spots from the pain in his back. Bobby’s soul started traveling downwards, but stopped, very suddenly. “What?” Crowley asked, puzzled.  
Appearing from nowhere was a woman in a pantsuit and a flawless bun.   
“Oh, come on!” Crowley nearly pouted.  
“Let me see if I’ve interpreted this situation correctly.” The woman said, icily. There was no doubt in Garth’s mind. This was an angel. “The Winchesters have freed an innocent from Hell, to which you are wrongfully trying to return it.”  
“Siding with them, Naomi?” The woman, Naomi, didn’t rise to Crowley’s bait. “You don’t know those two. Before they’re done, we’ll both be locked away.”  
“I’m just hoping they lock you away, dear. The rest, I’ll figure out.” Garth almost laughed.   
“Bureaucrat.” Crowley spat, and Naomi’s face fell. “You’re fighting outside your weight class.” Naomi seemed very angry.  
“Don’t call me a bureaucrat.” She said, voice nearly shaking from anger. She lifted her hand and gathered light to her, which Garth recognized as a smiting, before Crowley vanished. She lowered her hand just as Garth, Dean, and Sam all fell to the ground. They all looked up at Bobby’s soul, which was still dark, before Naomi twitched her fingers and it turned blue, again. Garth watched as it went up and up, before vanishing in the sky.   
“Bye, Bobby.” He whispered.  
“I told you you could trust me.” Naomi said, addressing Dean. Naomi looked to Garth and surprise wrote itself onto her face. He knew she was seeing his wings. “Brother Barachiel. I hope you will be joining us soon.” Garth recovered from his shock just enough to reply.  
“I go by Garth now. And I’m not so sure I will.” Naomi pursed her lips before vanishing in a flutter of wings.  
“What the hell was that about?” Sam asked Dean.  
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get this Trial done, then get Benny back.” Sam nodded, searching his jacket for something. He pulled out a piece of paper. He read the words off of it. It all sounded a bit like gibberish to Garth, but it did _something_.   
Sam screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his arm. “Sam?!” Dean shouted. “What?! What?!” Dean bent down beside him as Sam’s arm began to glow. Garth knelt at Sam’s other side. “Talk to me! What?!”  
“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Sam rushed out. Soon enough, the light died and Sam began breathing heavily. “It’s okay. I’m fine. It’s done.” Garth had no clue that that would happen when Sam completed a Trial. “It’s done.” He repeated, more for his own sake than for Dean’s or Garth’s. “C’mon, let’s get Benny back.” Sam said. 

 

The three of them stood around Benny’s body, Garth clutching the cure in his pocket. Sam held out his other arm, which held Benny’s soul, and did a ritual, similar to the one that freed Bobby.   
The glowing essence dripped out of Sam’s arm and onto Benny’s body. Before Garth’s eyes, Benny’s head stitched itself back to his body. It was a torturous second before Benny blinked open his eyes and sat up, groaning. He looked at the Winchesters.  
“What’d I miss?” He asked, groggily.  
“Benny!” Garth rejoiced falling to his knees and bringing Benny into a fierce hug. He was crying again, but he didn’t care. Benny laughed and hugged him back, just as tightly. When Garth felt like he could finally pull back Benny looked into his eyes.  
“You got any blood?” He asked, a bit awkwardly. Garth shook his head.  
“I got something better.” Benny raised a skeptical eyebrow as Garth pulled the cure out of his pocket. He held the jar in front of Benny. “It’s up to you, Ben, but this…this’ll make you human.” Benny’s eyes widened. “It’ll only work now, but it’s your choice.” Without hesitating, Benny took the jar and unscrewed the lid. He glanced at the Winchesters before looking back at Garth with his unearthly blue eyes. He smiled, slightly, and raised the jar.  
“Cheers.” He downed it in one gulp.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are shameless line borrowing from "Pac-Man Fever". It makes sense for the story.

Only a few seconds after Benny had ingested the cure, he began to throw up blood.   
“Benny!” Garth said, alarmed. He was at Benny’s side, unsure what to do. He was floundering. If Benny got hurt from this, it was all Garth's fault.  
“Garth, it’s okay!” Dean said, placing his hands on Garth’s shoulders. “This is how it’s supposed to happen.” Dean assured. “He’ll be sick for a few days, then he’ll be good.”   
“If this is what’s supposed to happen…I thought right?” Garth asked, truly surprised. He honestly wasn’t sure if it would work.  
“Yeah, it’s working. You did good.” Dean said, smiling. He stood back up and went over to Sam.   
Benny spit out the last of the blood and coughed for a moment, before sitting back up with a groan.   
“How you feeling?” Garth asked.  
“That may have been the most disgusting thing I ever tasted.” Benny said, a note of humor in his voice. Garth laughed, slightly.  
“Are they…gone?” Garth asked, knowing Benny would understand what he was asking. Benny pulled up one of his lips and showed off his gums. There were no teeth hidden in the lining. One set of purely human teeth was in Benny’s mouth. “They’re gone.” He said, more for himself than for Benny. Benny smiled at him. It was a relieved, weary sort of smile, one belonging to a man who wished to sleep.   
Garth stood up, slinging Benny’s arm over his shoulder so that he could support the former vampire.   
“You’re okay, it’s all gonna be okay.” He said to Benny. Benny was already beginning to nod off. “You can sleep now. I got you.”   
The Winchesters lead the pair to the Impala, where Garth helped Benny get inside. Garth slid in on the other side and sat beside the now completely asleep Benny.  
As Dean began to drive, Benny’s head lolled forward and rested on Garth’s shoulder.   
“It’s okay. I got you.” Garth muttered, rubbing Benny’s back. “Thank you.” He wasn’t sure why he was thanking Benny, he couldn’t narrow it down to one reason.   
He could hear the Winchesters muttering in the front seat, likely working out whatever angst they were going through. Suddenly, Sam turned in his seat.   
“Garth…after what Benny did in Purgatory, I…I was wrong about him.”   
“Yes, you were.” Garth agreed, quietly. Sam was taken aback by his agreement. “Thank you.” Sam sat back in his seat, resuming his conversation with Dean.   
Garth took off Benny’s hat and rested his cheek on his head, vision blurring. It had been a long day. Within minutes, Garth had fallen asleep.

 

It took four days for Benny to bounce back completely and, even then, he was exhausted. In no shape to hunt. With Balthazar in the wind, as he usually was, Gabriel babysitting Kevin, Benny bouncing back from his ordeal, and Sam resting from the trials, Garth and Dean were the only two capable hunters in the bunker. At least, until Sam got an email.  
“It’s from Charlie.” Sam said, reading it. Garth looked up from his book.   
“Charlie Bradbury?” Garth questioned.  
“Yeah. You two know each other?” Dean replied.  
“She saved my ass about a month ago. We’ve texted on and off since then. What does it say?”  
“‘In the neighborhood, found you guys a case.’” Sam read.  
“She found us a case?” Garth asked, puzzled.  
“In the neighborhood? How the hell does she know where we are?” Dean asked.  
“She doesn’t, not exactly. She tracked our cells to a twenty mile radius but then the signal went off. This place must be in some sort of…Bermuda Triangle.”  
“Wait. Are you saying we can make and receive phone calls from here and nobody can track us?” Dean asked.  
“Bitchin’.” Garth commented.  
“Man, I love this place.” Dean said.  
“Well, let’s go drive out and meet her.” Garth said. “It’ll be good to see her again. She’s awesome.”  
So, the three of them, despite the state Sam was in, went out to meet Charlie. They only had to wait a few minutes before her very yellow car pulled up. The sight of it made Garth smile.  
The door to the car opened and out stepped Charlie Bradbury  
“Your Highness!” Dean called, an inside joke that Garth was not a part of. Charlie smiled at the nickname.  
“What’s up, bitches?” She said, walking towards the three of them. Dean greeted her in a hug.   
“Garth, hey! You’re rolling with them, now?” Charlie asked, leaning into Garth’s shoulder as he hugged her.  
“Hell yeah, man. All the good stuff happens around them.” Garth answered, gaining a laugh. Sam hugged her, next, but slightly fell onto her. She helped steady him and leaned him against the Impala.  
“You okay, Sam?” She asked, worried.  
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m good. What’re you doing in Kansas?” Sam asked, voicing Garth’s thoughts.  
“Uh. A comic convention. In Topeka.” Charlie wasn’t very convincing.  
“In the middle of the week?” Sam countered.  
“Girl’s gotta get her collectibles.” Sam laughed at that. “So, you gonna invite me into you dungeon or do I gotta answer your questions, three, first?” Garth knew there was a reason he liked her.  
“Allow us to introduce you to the Men of Letters.”   
“I’ll ride with her, if she doesn’t mind.” Garth said. Sam and Dean got into the Impala, and Garth followed Charlie back to her car.  
“So, Garth, what’ve you been up to? It’s been a while.” Charlie asked.  
“Yeah, it has. I learned that I’m a fallen Archangel, so, that’s pretty cool. Found my soulmate, he was a vampire. Dean killed him, but he came back, now he’s a human. Uh, my boat burned down because of a drunken angel.” Garth answered. She gave him very wide eyes at his answer. “Found out I had a daughter as an angel. Don’t know where she is.”  
“Well, why not?” Charlie asked.  
“She uses aliases, now. I know her real name, but after she stopped using it, the trail goes blank.”   
“Well, what’s her name? Not to flatter myself, but I’ve got some computer skills. I might be able to find her.” Charlie said.   
“You’d do that for me?”  
“Hell yeah, man! Of course I’m gonna find the daughter of a freaking Archangel.” Charlie replied.  
“Oh, I’ll tell you later. We’re here.” And Garth and Charlie climbed out of the car.

 

“Holy awesome. Too bad they got wiped out, though that is what they get for the sexist name.” Charlie said. Garth chuckled.  
“Well, that’s our skinny. How about you?” Sam asked, after explaining what had been happening.   
“Uh, made a deal with the yesteryear weirdos. We’re gonna team up to stomp the shadow orcs. You guys are still coming to the mid-year jubilee, right?” Those words made no sense to Garth, but it sounded fun.  
“Wouldn’t miss it. We’re bringing Garth, too.” Dean said, making Garth perk up.  
“Thanks, Dean.”   
“So, what about this case you brought us?” Sam asked.  
“When I was in Topeka, I saw this pop up over the wire. Tom Blake, a checkout clerk in Salina, who went missing on his way home from work. He was found dead yesterday, his insides liquefied. Locals have no idea what happened, they tried to bury the report so people wouldn't freak, but I flagged it.” Charlie pulled out an iPad filled with pictures of monsters and showed it to the group. “I have eliminated the following things that go bump in the night…”  
“Wait a minute. When did you become such an expert?” Sam asked.  
“Well, after you guys left, I dug into all things monsters. I'm a wee bit obsessive. If ‘wee bit’ means completely. I also found this series of books, by a Carver Edlund?” Sam and Dean glanced at each other, awkwardly. Garth knew exactly what books Charlie was talking about. he’d read them all in two weeks.   
“Did those books really happen?” Charlie asked. Neither Sam nor Dean would meet her eyes. Sam sighed, which was all the affirmation Charlie needed. “Wow. This is some meta madness. Thanks for saving the world and stuff. Sorry you have zero luck with the ladies.” With that, Garth burst out laughing.  
“We need to find every single copy of those books and burn them.” Sam said.   
“They’re online now, so good luck with that.” Charlie replied. Dean grimaced.  
“Awesome.” Dean stood from his chair. “Well, you three crazy kids deal with that, I will go see if there’s anything to this case of yours.”  
“I’m coming with you.” Sam stood up, too, but stumbled and nearly fell over. Charlie and Garth both jumped from their seats and braced him.  
“Whoa, are you sure you’re okay?” Charlie asked.  
“Yes.” Sam replied, immediately.  
“No. You’re taking a knee as long as you’re off your game.” Dean said. Garth forced Sam back into his seat at Dean’s words  
“I’ll come with you, Dean.” Garth said. Dean nodded to show his approval.  
“I’ll go, too.” Charlie said.  
“No disrespect, okay, but there’s a big difference between reading about hunting and actually hunting.” Dean said.  
“I’m coming with.” Charlie said, firmly. Dean dragged Charlie to the shooting range, to test her accuracy and capability, while Garth sat next to Sam.  
“Alright, Sam, you gotta stay here.” Garth said, seriously. Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Garth cut him off. “No, you have to. What if something happens? Gabriel is capable and you’re off your game, yeah, but the two of you together is a good team. You need to protect Kevin and Benny. I don’t know what I would do if I lost either of them, and you and Gabriel are the only ones I trust to guard them. And Gabriel could use the company. Kevin’s bent over the Tablet and Benny’s been sleeping non-stop, so I think Gabe’s starting to lose it.” It wasn’t entirely a play. He really did want Benny and Kevin protected, but he also knew the right buttons to push so that Sam would stay put. Garth didn’t want him involved in this case.  
It took a moment, but Sam eventually nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay here.” Sam finally said. Garth smiled.  
“Thanks, Sam. Take good care of them.”   
“I will.”


	18. Chapter 18

Garth and Dean sat together at the clothing store, watching Charlie try on outfits while Dean made her a fake FBI badge. She had set her phone to play ‘Walking on Sunshine’, something Garth appreciated. He loved that song.   
Dean was disapproving of all her outfits. Garth had actually liked the black-and-white dress, but he agreed that it wasn’t very professional. Nor was the yellow jacket with the bright blue pants. Or any of the other things she tried on. _Especially_ not the bright jumpsuit. It was at the jumpsuit that Dean turned off the song, making Charlie looked like he kicked her puppy.  
“Montage.” She complained, quietly.   
“Dean, that was pretty mean.” Garth said, earning a glare.   
Eventually, Charlie found an appropriate outfit, a nice black pantsuit. It was very professional. Garth and Dean were already in their suits, a blue tie adorning Garth’s neck. Picking up a conversation from earlier, Charlie spoke again:  
“Trials? That’s never good.”  
“Yeah, and I think our prophet’s cracking.” Dean said. Garth remembered Kevin, and had to agree.  
“What about, uh, Castiel? He seems helpful, and dreamy.” Charlie suggested. Garth snickered. He knew that Charlie was exclusively into girls, she was saying that for someone else’s benefit. And it certainly wasn’t Garth’s. Dean looked at him, oddly, before replying.  
“He’s MIA, with a tablet of his own, doing God knows what. I mean, to be honest this whole thing is...I mean, Sam’s a tough son of a bitch, but...Cas is saying that these trials are messing with him in ways that even he can’t heal.” Charlie smoothed out a wrinkle in her suit as Dean spoke.  
“If it’s any consolation, having read your history, there is pretty much nothing the Winchesters can’t do if they work together.” Charlie settled on.  
“Thanks.” Dean said, a bit awkwardly.  
“Must be nice, having a brother, someone to always watch your back.” Charlie supposed.  
“Yeah. No brothers and sisters?” Garth was actually curious about the answer of Dean’s question.  
“Yeah, I have two, actually. Their names are XBOX and PS3.” Charlie answered. Garth chuckled. Dean was staring at his phone.  
“Not getting any reception. Can I use your phone?” Dean asked.  
“Yeah, sure.” Charlie replied. He was calling Sam, Garth just knew it. “What about you, Garth? Any siblings?” Garth laughed, nervously.  
“Yeah. I had an older sister, growing up, but she died a couple years back. And, technically, I have a little sister, too.” Garth answered. Charlie frowned at his response.  
“Technically?”   
“I had a twin sister, but we were separated at birth. I only know about it ‘cause I found my medical records.” Garth answered. Charlie winced.  
“Bummer.”  
“I’m over it. I’ve got more things to worry about than a twin sister. I just hope she’s out there, living her best life.”  
“Do you think she’s an angel, too?” Charlie asked, something Garth hadn’t even thought of.  
“I don’t know.” He replied, honestly. “I hope not.”

 

After a, frankly, unsuccessful visit to the Coroner’s office, agents Hicks (Dean), Ripley (Charlie), and Lambert (Garth) went out for burritos. They barely got to enjoy their food before another body was found.  
“Damn. This burrito is amazing.” Garth said, trying to shovel the burrito into his mouth before they arrived.  
“Garth, you’re gonna choke on that.” Dean replied.  
“Then I will die happy.” Garth responded, getting into the backseat of the Impala. He’d given Charlie the front seat, he was more comfortable in the back, anyways.  
They arrived at the scene, getting out of the car.  
“Maybe one of you two should go first, this time.” Charlie said, nervously, reliving her attempt at the Coroner's while holding the FBI badge upside down. Garth had barely been able to contain his laughter.  
“Nuh-uh. Back on the horse, kiddo, come on.” Dean replied.   
“Yeah, Charlie, it’ll be easier now that you’ve done it once.” Garth added, gently. Charlie took a deep breath and approached the police officer guarding the tape.   
“Hey there.” She started, making Garth wince. She pulled out her badge. “I am Special Agent Ripley, these are my partners, Special Agent Hicks,” Dean nodded in confirmation. “And Special Agent Lambert.” Garth pulled out his badge and flashed it. The officer let them onto the scene.  
Garth examined the scene. “Looks like there’s no body left.” He commented. He looked at the area where the body would’ve been. “Dean, how about you see what you can glean over there, ask about the victim, me and Charlie will take point on the questioning.”  
“Are you trying to take point?” Dean asked, incredulously.  
“Yeah, I am, because those two are traumatized. You’re not so good with the traumatized ones.” Garth said, bluntly. Dean looked like he was about to argue, but then went over to the body. “C’mon, Charlie. You go question them. I’ll be backup.” Charlie nodded, resolutely, empowered by her success with the officer. Garth walked behind her. The two witnesses, teenagers, were playing video games.  
“Hey boys. Special Agent Ripley, Special Agent Lambert, FBI, and stuff. What game you guys playing?” Charlie said to the boys. Garth smiled. She wasn’t so bad at this part.

 

Garth could say he’d done multiple things just for his job as a hunter. Now he could add ‘broke into a coroner’s office’ to the list. Or, he could, in a moment.  
Charlie, Dean, and Garth all stood outside of the morgue. Dean was about to pick the lock when a car’s headlights flooded the room.   
“What the hell?” Garth asked, mostly to himself. Charlie ran out of the room, as fast as she could on heels.  
“Charlie. Charlie!” Dean called after her. Garth was about to follow her when she came back.   
“It’s the coroner. I got this.” She said, before running off again.  
Dean looked after her for a moment before picking the lock and walking inside the room. They found the chamber belonging to the victim and Dean opened it, only to reveal emptiness. There was no body. “The hell?” Dean muttered. Garth picked up some paperwork that appeared official and started looking through it. He winced.  
“Tough luck, amigo. They already burned the bodies.”  
“Already?” Dean repeated, surprised.  
“Yeah, man. They think it’s some sort of weird disease outbreak, they’re trying to stop it. Even got CDC approval.” Garth put it into layman's terms.  
“These folks run a tight ship. Does this mean we need to take Silkwood showers, or is this still a case?”  
“Not sure. Somethin’ about what that kid said about the mark…remind me of somethin’. Can’t remember what.” Garth pulled out his phone and took a picture of the paperwork, finding it to be useful. “We’ll have to dig through the lore.”   
“Hurry it up, man.”   
“Got it.”   
And the two left the morgue, hoping Charlie would be behind, shortly.


	19. Chapter 19

Everyone but Kevin and Benny was out in the library of the bunker, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Charlie freaked out when she met Gabriel, believing him to be dead from the books she’d read. But the excitement had died when they sat down to do research.   
“Leviathan.” Sam suggested.  
“No, they consume their prey.” Charlie replied. She had her iPad out again, crossing off options.  
“Maybe the vics were Leviathans.” Sam tried again.  
“No black goo on either scene in the coroner’s reports.” Garth eliminated. He knew that the paperwork would come in handy.  
“Dragons, they uh-” Sam began.  
“No signs of burns on the vics.” Charlie cut him off, crossing off another option on her list.  
“I hate that thing.” Sam said. “I want one.” Garth couldn’t lie, he wanted one, too.  
“Wait a second. Djinn.” Dean said, looking up from John Winchester’s journal.   
“Djinn vics don’t get liquified.” Charlie argued.  
“No, no, no, not regular Djinn. According to this, there’s a bastard offshoot. Uh, their eyes light up blue, they pass as humans, all that regular jazz, except these leave their victims with jelly-like insides, and supposedly, when they poison their victims, they leave behind a blue handprint.” Dean slammed his hand down on the journal, startling Gabriel, who hadn’t really been listening.  
“I hate that thing. And I want one.” Charlie said, echoing Sam’s sentiment.  
“And this offshoot…you can gank ‘em the same way?” Garth asked.  
“Silver blade dipped in lamb’s blood, yeah. And now we just gotta find the asshat.” Dean said. Gabriel barked out a laugh at that. Charlie stood up.  
“Alright, well, breakthrough means snack time to me, and I wanna just stretch my legs. I will pick us up some grub, and unlike you, Sam, I will not forget the pie.” Charlie left the bunker.  
“She seem a little off to you?” Dean asked.  
“So I’m not the only one who noticed?” Garth replied.

 

Charlie hadn’t been back for hours. Sam, Dean, and Garth were all trying to reach her. Garth tried her cell again.  
“Hey, Charlie. It’s Garth. For the seventh time, yes, I’m counting. Call me back, okay?” He hung up just as Dean entered the room.  
“Hey. Any word from Charlie?” Dean asked.  
“No, not a peep. And I checked, just to be sure, there’s no comic convention in Topeka. What I don’t get is why she would lie. Why would she do that?” Garth answered.  
“One way to find out.” Dean pulled out his phone and Garth frowned at it.  
“What’re you doing?”  
“When I called Sam from her phone, I turned on her GPS.” Dean explained. Garth smiled.  
“Clever.”

 

The two of them had made their way to Charlie’s apartment, or at least a place where she was holed up. Dean banged on the door.   
“Charlie! Hey, Charlie, you in there?” Garth called through the door before opening it, finding it unlocked. Not a good sign.  
The place was a complete wreck, with furniture flipped over and papers and books scattered everywhere.   
“Charlie!” Dean called, but there was no answer. Garth’s eyes locked onto a box of fake IDs.  
“What is this?” Garth muttered, picking up the box.  
“What the hell is this place?” Dean asked.  
“I dunno. But it belongs to Charlie.” Garth grimaced as he looked through the box. Dozens upon dozens of fake IDs. “Or whatever her name is.”  
“Who the hell is she, Jason Bourne? Okay, so we got no forced entry, so either it was somebody that she knew, or…”   
“It was the Djinn.” Garth added the end of the hanging sentence. Dean picked up Charlie’s abandoned phone and showed it to Garth, who had logged onto her laptop.”  
“Here’s all our missed calls. You got anything on her laptop?”  
“I got somethin’. She’s got a use for all these fake IDs. She’s been making donations under these names to Shawnee County General here in Topeka.” Garth stared at the screen, a bit confused.  
“What, a charity?” Dean asked, just as puzzled as Garth.  
“Nah, a patient. Gertrude Middleton.” Garth answered, scanning the screen.   
_Middleton._ The name was familiar, but with all that was going on, he couldn’t remember where he knew it.  
“We need answers. You keep Djinn-digging, I’ll take Gertrude.” Garth nodded and they went their separate ways.

 

Garth and Dean were in the bunker’s library, comparing notes.   
“So, there’s nothing anyone can do for Mrs. Middleton?” Garth asked, a suspicion being confirmed in the back of his head.  
“No. No, Gertrude seemed like a cool mom, too. Kind, strong, taken from her family way too young.” There was a beat, as Dean seemed to be losing himself in memories. He shook himself out of it. “You find anything?” He asked.  
“Pretty sure I did, yeah. A John Doe case from about nine years ago. The original coroner wanted to give the body a one-way ticket to the CDC, but the new assistant ‘accidentally’ had the body burned before anything could happen.”  
“New assistant?” Dean had latched onto the important part of Garth’s story.  
“It’s our dear friend, Jennifer O’Brien.” Garth answered. Dean’s face took on a look of understanding.  
“Coroner’s a hell of a cover for hiding kills.”  
“And there’s more. CDC HQ never heard from Jennifer this time, either. She faked the reports, pretty damn convincingly, and covered her tracks.” Garth continued.  
“So why does she get sloppy again after nine years, start leaving the bodies where they can be found?”  
“Let’s ask the good doctor. Says here she owns two pieces of property, a two-bedroom house about ten minutes from here, and, this is the cherry on top, an abandoned shipping warehouse.” Garth added. Dean sighed.  
“‘Course she does.”  
It took a while to get to the warehouse, but once they did, they quickly caught sight of Charlie. She was tied to a chair, her head lolling forward. Dean ran up to her and started shaking her.  
“Charlie. Charlie! Hey, Charlie!” Dean called. Garth couldn’t resist and started looking around the warehouse. It was possible there were other victims being held there, and if there were, he wanted to find them.   
He immediately felt that he was being watched. Sure enough, within two minutes, he was attacked by none other than Jennifer O’Brien. He was knocked back, surprisingly off his game, but Jennifer was stabbed by Dean from behind. She fell to the ground with a thump.   
“You okay?” Dean asked, offering a hand to help Garth up. Garth took it and the other hunter hauled him up.  
“Yeah, just off my game. Let’s get back to Charlie.”   
They rushed back to her, Garth pulling the Djinn antidote out of his coat. He easily injected it into her vein, but nothing happened.  
“What the hell’s going on?!” Dean exclaimed.  
“I-I don’t know. It’s a different Djinn, maybe she needs a different antidote?” Garth suggested, burying his panic.  
“Charlie?” Dean asked, hesitantly. He put his wrist to her forehead but quickly pulls back. “She’s burning up, man. We are not letting her turn into jello!”  
“I’m working on it, Dean! Djinn poison puts your brain in like a-like a feedback loop while your blood boils, right?” Garth said, mind running a mile a second.  
“Yeah, where you going with this?”  
“I’m getting there. If the antidote didn’t stop the loop, there might be another way to break it, from the inside. If a Djinn takes you to your happy place, your happy place is sorta like a dream-”  
“African dream root.” Dean cut him off. Garth nodded, solemnly.   
After retrieving the dream root, Dean added the vial of ginger into the jar. Garth plucked a hair from Charlie’s head and put it into the jar.  
“Alright, let’s do this.” Dean said, grimly. He downed the contents of the jar in two large gulps and looked as though he was about to gag. “Ugh. Okay, alright. I’m gonna need to go to sleep fast, so you gotta punch me, knock me out.” Without hesitating, Garth punched Dean in the face, knocking him to the ground and out cold.  
“Sam told ya. Mean right hook.”


	20. Chapter 20

With Garth alone in the warehouse, he felt his skin begin to itch. He was nervous, he still felt like he was being watched. It was then that he heard a sound. His head whipped around, but he found nothing, so he sighed and returned to his silent vigil in front of Charlie and Dean. He wished he knew what was going on in their shared dream.  
Out of the corner of his eye, Garth saw a movement. He looked and saw what appeared to be a teenage boy. He was snarling.   
“You killed my mom.” His mom. The Djinn. Shit. His eyes glowed blue as he walked towards Garth. Garth readied his knife.  
“So it was you. You were the one who messed up. Your mom’s been doing this for years, but you’re young. You’re inexperienced.” Garth said.  
“Shut up!” The Djinn barked. “I just came of age, I had to feed. I screwed up.” Garth was walking in circles, not attacking, but not inviting an attack. The Djinn glanced over at Jennifer’s body. “Mom knew how to cover her tracks. She always told me not to play with my food.” Garth sighed.  
“Shoulda listened to your mom.” Garth said.   
The Djinn snarled and threw a punch. In a rush of adrenaline, Garth felt muscles he didn’t even know he had flex. They pulled him out of the way, almost like he was gliding. In this momentary advantage, Garth stabbed the Djinn and the boy collapsed, dead.  
When Garth looked back at Dean and Charlie, he saw Dean stirring.   
“Dean? Dean! Hey, man, you alright? Hey, Dean!” Garth helped a very groggy Dean out of the chair.  
“I’m okay. Charlie?” Dean looked at Charlie, who was waking up. She woke up crying. “I’m sorry. I had to.” He said to her. She began to sob as Dean wrapped her in a hug.  
It was official. Garth had no clue what was going on.

 

Charlie, Dean, and Garth all left the bunker. Sam would’ve said goodbye, Garth was certain, but he was crashed out, sleeping like a baby.   
The three of them stopped in front of Charlie’s car and Garth handed her her bag. “So, thanks for saving our bacon.” She said to him.  
“Any time, milady.” Garth answered. After hearing the story of the LARPing gone wrong, he couldn't resist. “You know, you’d be a good Woman of Letters.” Charlie beamed at the praise. Everyone in the bunker was considered a Man of Letters, as the rest of the order had died out. Charlie should be among their ranks.   
“I like the sound of that.” Charlie paused, thoughtfully. “By the way, Garth?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I forgot, in all the chaos. What’s the name of your daughter? You never said.” Charlie asked. Garth smiled. He’d already figured it out. He thought now would be the best time to tell her.  
“I already know where she is, by now. But, if you’re still interested in the name…this isn’t gonna be easy. The name of the Nephilim was…Celeste Middleton.” Charlie’s eyes widened, but Garth knew she would need time to process the information. “See you around, Charlie.” Garth patted her shoulder and walked back to the bunker, leaving Charlie and Dean alone together.  
When Garth got back in, he found Benny waiting for him in the library. Benny was looking better than he ever had. There was color in his cheeks and mirth in his eyes, a cup of coffee in front of him. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at Garth.   
“Hey!” Garth called down, cheerfully. He bounded down the stairs and to Benny’s side. He pulled up the chair and touched knees with the former vampire.  
“Heya, Garth.” Benny reached out and touched Garth’s cheek. Garth melted into the touch. “Sorry I haven’t been around lately.” Benny said, earnestly.  
“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Benny. You became a human after…how long were you a vampire?” Garth asked. “I never asked before.” Benny gave a half-hearted smile.  
“It was during World War II. I was shipping out, by we were attacked by vampires and I was turned. Obviously, I couldn’t go to war after that.” Garth nodded, absorbing the information.  
“See, right there. You were turned into a vampire around seventy years ago. Of course you’re exhausted after that. Hell, I would be.” Garth rested his hands on Benny’s shoulders, while Benny’s arms wrapped around Garth’s waist. Garth gently knocked his forehead into Benny’s. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re stronger than anyone I ever met, Benjamin Laffite. Don’t ever forget that.” Benny smiled and kissed him. They were uninterrupted this time, and only pulled away when they needed air.  
“You called me Ben before.” Benny smiled as he said it. Garth frowned, confused, but still smiling.  
“Did I? When was this?”  
“When I came back from Purgatory, and you offered me the cure. You called me Ben. I kinda liked it.” Benny admitted. Garth’s smile widened into a grin.   
They sat in silence for a moment before pulling back from each other’s arms as Dean came back inside. Dean paid them no mind as he went into the kitchen to, presumably, get a beer.   
“What are you gonna do, now?” Benny asked the question Garth wanted to hear the least. He’d been thinking about it for a few days, and had come to a conclusion. He just didn’t want to say it out loud, otherwise…otherwise it would be real.  
“With the third Trial coming up, I have a feeling. I think that everyone here…I think that I’d be more use to everyone as an Archangel than as a goofy-looking hunter.” Garth said.  
“First off, you’re not goofy-looking. I think you’re very handsome.” Benny complimented. Garth’s cheeks turned red. “Second, if it’s really what you want, I won’t stop you. But you’re more than just your usefulness. You’re family. You’re the man I love. Will becomin’ an angel change who you are?” Garth sighed, deeply.  
“Honestly? I’m not sure.” Garth put his hands over one of Benny’s, seeking comfort, something Benny gladly gave. “I don’t want to change. I wanna be the person you fell for. But I’ve made up my mind. Even if it’s not useful right away, having a person with Archangel Grace fighting the good fight would be valuable. And I don’t know if Gabriel will ever get his Grace back. That’s why it’s gotta be me.” Benny didn’t say anything, so Garth continued. “But, Benny, I’m terrified. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me. The thought of not being me…it’s almost enough to stop me.”  
“But it won’t stop you, will it?” Benny asked, completely neutral.  
“No. If I let that stop me, than it could come back to hurt us. I’m doing this.”  
“And there it is.” Garth frowned at Benny’s words. “There’s the man I fell in love with. I’m not sure what bein’ an angel will do to you, but if you still act like that when you’re one, than you don’t have to worry about not bein’ you anymore.” Garth smiled, thankful at how Benny was taking this. “When do we leave?” Benny asked, making Garth’s face fall.   
“Ben…” Garth trailed off, not sure how to say it. Benny seemed to read Garth’s mind, face falling to match Garth's.  
“I’m not goin’, am I?”   
“It’s not that I don’t want you to go. Believe me, I wish you could. But I don’t know what’ll happen. What if somethin’ goes wrong? What if you get hurt? I couldn’t handle losing you. I couldn’t handle even accidentally hurting you.” Benny nodded, seemingly understanding Garth’s point of view.  
“Just promise you’ll bring someone with you. Like you said, what if somethin’ goes wrong?”   
“I’m bringing Gabriel.” Garth said. Benny nodded his approval. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”   
It was at that moment that Dean walked into the room, holding his beer. “Who’s leaving tomorrow?” He asked, sitting heavily in his chair.  
“Me and Gabriel. We’re…we’re gonna reclaim my Grace.” Garth explained.   
“Does that mean I gotta call you Barachiel or whatever the crap your name was? ‘Cause, I gotta say, that would, officially, make you one of the dicks.” Dean answered.  
“No, I’m Garth. I’ll always be Garth.” He said, more confident than he felt.   
Garth stood up and went to tell Gabriel about his plans, feeling a nervous pit in his stomach the whole way.


	21. Chapter 21

Garth hated to leave Benny’s arms the morning of his and Gabriel’s departure. He wanted to fall back asleep and wake up with no plans other than to kiss Benny senseless.   
Despite how much he hated it, he eventually woke up and started getting ready.   
“Garth?” He startled at Benny’s voice and looked back. Benny was obviously still half asleep, his eyes drooping and his posture slouching. “It’s time for you to go?” He asked.  
“Yeah, it is.” Garth licked his lips, nervously, and decided to say it. “Look, Benny, I’ve been thinking,”  
“Oh, that’s bad, isn’t it?” Benny said, trying to blink himself awake. Garth chuckled at him, heart swelling at the image.   
“It’s not bad.” Garth sat next to Benny on the bed. “I just wanted to say something. If…If I’m still me when I get back, than…” This was going to be difficult. “Than I’ll want to marry you.” With that, Benny was completely awake.   
“You can do that now?” _Marrying a man_ , Garth’s mind supplied for him.   
“Yeah, you can. And I know it’s soon, but if we somehow manage to get through all of this with the Grace and the Trials in one piece, than I don’t want to wait anymore.” Garth’s heart was beating so loudly it was drowning out all the other sounds in the room.  
“If you’re still you when you come back, than I don’t think I’ll be _able_ to wait anymore.” Garth grinned and leaned in to give Benny a kiss. They were rudely interrupted by a banging at the door.  
“Stop fucking your boyfriend, we’ve gotta leave!” Gabriel called through the door. Garth sighed, pressed one last kiss to Benny’s lips, and walked to the door, pulling on his jacket.   
“I love you.” Garth said.  
“I love you, too.” Benny replied.   
“I’ll come back as me. Or I won’t come back at all.” Garth vowed.  
“Come back. No matter who’s coming back.” Benny countered. Garth nodded and left, finding Gabriel and heading to their car.

 

Their destination was in Missouri, just a few miles outside of Warsaw, where Garth was born. It would take a day of driving to get there and a day to get back, from their starting point in Lebanon, Kansas.  
Garth and Gabriel had set out at six in the morning, hoping to get there early. If the destination wasn’t worrying Garth so visibly, than anyone looking in would’ve thought it was just two friends on a fun road trip. And it _was_ fun.   
It was clear that Gabriel was trying to get Garth’s mind off of what was to come. But Garth appreciated this, since he didn’t want to think about it.  
Currently, they were playing 20 questions, and it was Garth’s turn to guess.  
“Is it…a sugary thing?”  
“Yes.”   
“Is it a candy?” Garth guessed.  
“Yes…” Gabriel was beginning to worry, that much was obvious.  
“Is it a Hershey bar?”   
“Dammit!” Gabriel swore, loudly.  
“You’re making this game too easy. I’ve already won four times! Okay, it’s your turn to guess.” Garth said, focusing mostly on the road.   
“Nah, this game is too easy. Let’s change the subject. Let’s talk about boys!” Garth laughed at Gabriel’s suggestion.  
“Well, you know my boy.”  
“You two were suspiciously quiet this morning. I would’ve thought you would be mating like bunnies. You’re not gonna see each other for a few days.”  
“Well, we obviously weren’t. And even if we were, I wouldn’t tell you about it.” There was a pause. “I _did_ ask Benny to marry me, though.”  
“You did _WHAT?!It was the heat of the moment. Telling you what your heart meant._ ” This was easy.   
This was something Garth knew how to do. Not reclaiming his Grace, helping the Winchesters deal with the Trials, proposing to Benny, but singing karaoke with his best friend. It was just what he needed.

 

They arrived at their destination at three in the morning. Both of them were running mostly on coffee, and even then, they were nearly tripping over their own feet. But, still, they’d arrived.   
Garth could feel his Grace. It was a humming in his very blood.   
“We’re getting close!” Garth called. “I can feel it!” They wandered through the wilderness, a chill biting into Garth’s skin, until they came across something unnatural. A bush filled with white roses as big as a two story house. This was Garth’s Grace.   
“This has _got_ to be it.” Gabriel commented. “Nothing like this occurs in nature.”   
“How do we get it out?” Garth asked. Gabriel looked over at Garth and grimaced.  
“Go get your machete. We’ve gotta cut it down. Your Grace should be in the middle.”  
“Right. ‘Cause it’s never easy.” Garth muttered, petulantly.   
This was going to be a long night.

 

They were making surprisingly quick progress. The sun was beginning to come up, and they were about three quarters of the way through their task.   
“Why roses?” Garth called, breathing heavily from exertion.   
“I have no clue. Grace is weird like that. It makes things like this when it’s uncontrolled.” Gabriel called back.   
Finally, Garth cut through just the right area. He could see his Grace glowing in the middle of the bush. It was shapeless and had a slight blue hue to it, reminiscent of Bobby’s soul.   
“I got it!” Garth shouted. Gabriel ran around the bush to Garth’s side and stood behind him. He put his hand on Garth’s shoulder.   
Both of the were sweaty and dirty, but they had what they came for.   
“Last chance to back out. You sure about this?” Gabriel asked, more serious than Garth had ever seen him. Garth took a deep breath.  
“I’m sure.” Garth replied, and stepped forward. He reached out, hand shaking, and touched the glowing blue essence floating in midair.  
It flowed into him, turning his veins into fire and his insides into lava. He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t even think. The Grace consumed him to the point where he wasn’t even sure if he was screaming or not. He thought he was, but there was no way to be certain. And suddenly, he remembered.   
He remembered Heaven. He remembered his brothers. He remembered seeing Earth the first time, the resounding boom of power that came from his Nephilim. He remembered everything.   
Just as he was certain the memories of being an Archangel would take over, he remembered Benny. Dean, Sam, Kevin, Charlie. He remembered his humans.   
He wasn’t sure if it was ten seconds, ten minutes, or ten days, but soon enough, the burning stopped, leaving him exhausted. His breathing was hoarse and his throat was still on fire, begging for water, but he was, more or less, in one piece.  
“Barachiel?” Gabriel called out from behind him. He turned around and looked his brother in the eyes.  
“My name is Garth.” He rasped. And promptly passed out cold.


	22. Chapter 22

When Garth woke up, he was on the road with his head against the window of the car.   
“Wha-?” Was all he could manage.  
“Hey, tiger. Good to see you up.” Gabriel’s voice shook him out of a stupor. Garth straightened in his seat, eyes adjusting to the afternoon light.  
“Where are we right now?” Garth asked, looking outside.   
“Couple miles outside of Lebanon. We’ll be back in about an hour.”  
“You been driving all night?”   
“And then some. But you were playing dead, I couldn’t get you to wake up.” Gabriel glanced over at him. “You had me worried, kiddo.”  
“Sorry.” Garth muttered.  
“No sweat off my back. You’re alright now, aren’t you?”   
“Yeah, no, yeah. I’m good.” Garth replied. A tense beat passed.  
“Aren’t you gonna fly back to the bunker?” Gabriel asked. Garth frowned, confused.  
“And leave you here? No, I’m fine with driving.” Garth shot back. Gabriel looked at him for as long as he could, completely puzzled, before turning his eyes back to the road.  
“Good news, Garth.” He said.  
“What good news?”  
“You’re still you.”

 

When Garth and Gabriel arrived, it was to a horrible scene. The door to the bunker had been wrenched off its hinges, leaving a gaping hole.   
“Oh, no.” Gabriel muttered, but if there was more, Garth didn’t hear it. He was already bounding inside.   
“Benny! Kevin! Sam! Dean!” He yelled out, refusing to panic. He nearly jumped down the stairs and ran through to the library.  
When he entered the library, however, he was greeted by what had wrenched the door off. Demons, at least a dozen of them in this room, alone.  
Out of Garth’s sleeve came the familiar weight of his Archangel blade. It settled comfortably in his hand.   
“You don’t wanna do this.” Garth warned them. The demons all pulled out angel blades, but Garth knew they wouldn’t hurt him. He was in a completely different class than the normal blades. Garth sighed, deeply. “I warned you.” Just before striking, he allowed them a glance at his wings, which he could now feel. Their eyes, though black, widened at the sight. Only one type of angel had wings that big.  
The half of the demons who didn’t disappear upon seeing the wings were all frozen in place. Garth surged forward, stabbing a demon in the stomach, watching as the orange light flickered. He pulled back, flipping his blade to underhanded and stabbed a second one. The other demons seemed to snap out of their trance and came forward. Garth slit the throat of one of them, putting his hand on the forehead of the other one and smiting it. It had been a long time since he’d done any smiting. It felt strangely good.   
Now, there was only one demon left. He looked panicked, wide-eyed, and vanished. “Smart demon.” Garth commented.  
“Garth!” He turned when he heard Gabriel. The former Archangel was running down the stairs. He was slightly bloodied, and a little out of breath, clutching his angel blade so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.   
“Just killed some demons outside.” Gabriel took in the corpses in the library. “Looks like you did, too.” Gabriel smirked. “Like riding a bike, eh?” Garth smiled back.  
“C’mon, we gotta find Benny and Kev.” Garth said.   
The two split up to search the bunker. The bunker was a wreck, but it could easily be fixed. Garth wasn’t worried about the actual place. He was worried as to what state he would find the occupants.   
Purely by chance, he came across the computer room. The doors were closed, and when he tried to open them, he couldn’t. They were barricaded. There was something. He banged on the door, palm open flat.   
“Benny, Kevin! It’s me! It’s Garth!” Garth shouted through the door. It took a moment of slamming behind the door for it to open just slightly. Through the wedge in the door came an open flask of what was presumably Holy Water. It splashed over him, but did nothing except make him a bit damp.   
The door swung open fully and Garth was hauled inside. The room was more of a wreck than the entire bunker put together. Most of the equipment and furniture had been pushed against the door, which was painted in blood symbols. Before Garth could process much else, he was being pulled into a tight embrace. He recognized Benny and quickly hugged back. It ended as soon as it started and Benny pulled back. Garth finally got a good look at Benny and Kevin, the only two people in the room.  
Both were covered in blood and sweat, with large bags under their bloodshot eyes. Both were injured, but not fatally so.   
“What happened here? Where are Sam and Dean?” Garth asked.  
“Out with Crowley for the third Trial.” Kevin answered. “After they left, the demons came here. We barricaded ourselves in here. With the number of demons, it was the only thing we could do.” Kevin explained.   
“What happened with you?” Benny asked, knowing there was more to the question than at first glance. Garth pressed his index fingers to their foreheads and healed their wounds. That was one thing he missed about being an angel. Healing.   
“I got my Grace back. I gotta go back out there, there might be more, and I left Gabriel alone.” He pecked Benny’s cheek and patted Kevin’s shoulder. “I’ll be back. Sit tight until we can get you outta here, alright?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he flew out of the room.   
It had been a long time since Garth had flown anywhere, and stretching his wings felt amazing. He flew to Gabriel’s side just as the shorter man was killing a demon. Gabriel startled when he saw Garth. “Is that what it feels like for the humans?” He asked, hand over his heart.  
“Sorry.” Garth said, automatically. Gabriel waved away his apology.  
“Can you sense any demons?” Gabriel asked.   
Garth hadn’t even thought of sensing. Maybe being an Archangel again wasn’t _exactly_ like riding a bike. It was more like riding a bike you haven’t ridden in a long time without a seat or peddles. But, he’d get the hang of it again.  
Garth closed his eyes and reached out. “We’re in the clear. No more demons in the area.” Garth reported.   
He put his hand around Gabriel’s wrist and flew them to the computer room, where Kevin and Benny jumped at the sight of the pair. “You’re safe. The demons are gone.” He was about to say more when he felt something, deep in his soul. Something _wrong_.  
“Garth?” Benny asked, worried.  
“You alright?” Kevin questioned.   
“Outside. We have to get outside.” Garth heard himself say. Gabriel put his hand on Garth’s shoulder while Garth grabbed both Benny and Kevin. In a second, they were outside, and Garth looked up. He fell to his knees at the sight that greeted him.  
Like a macabre meteor shower, they were all falling. Garth’s brothers and sisters, all losing their wings in the fall from Heaven.   
“What in the…” Benny began, but trailed off.  
“No way.” Kevin said, disbelieving.  
“The angels are falling.” Gabriel said, summing up an atrocity in four words. Garth couldn’t summon up any words. He couldn’t even think of any. He could hear confused Enochian in his head, but he couldn’t even respond. “What happened to Heaven?” Gabriel asked.   
“Where’s Balthazar?” Kevin asked.   
“Garth.” Benny said, breaking through the numbness in his mind. Garth looked at him. “Where are your wings?”   
Garth felt around for his wings, tried to move the muscles, but they were nonexistent. That could only mean one thing.  
“The doors to Heaven have been closed.” Garth said, shutting up the chattering from Gabriel and Kevin.   
There were no more words to say. Gabriel, Kevin, and Benny sat next to Garth in the grass and watched, helplessly, as the angels fell.


	23. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Thank you to everyone who read this far! Please enjoy the epilogue.

Watching he angels fall was the worst thing that happened in Garth’s life, though he could definitely think of some things to put in the top ten.  
There was seeing Sam deteriorated, after the Trials had fell through. Though Garth had managed to heal him with relative ease, seeing Sam like that was heartbreaking.   
Seeing Dean getting the Mark of Cain, and watching what it had done to him. That was painful to watch.  
The memory of Charlie nearly getting killed was enough to send Garth into a panic. He’d managed to get to her before she was killed, but it still made him worry.  
Watching as the Darkness, his aunt, spread over the world, wreaking havoc.  
Being helpless to stop it when Chuck, his father, was dying and Dean was to sacrifice himself to stop Amara.   
Seeing Lucifer, the brother he loved so much so broken after too many centuries in the cage.  
All definitely in his top ten worst things that happened in his life. But, in the years that had gone by since the angels fell, it wasn’t all bad. Garth had a top ten good things that had happened. And marrying Benny was at the top of the list.  
In all the chaos that had been going on in the past few days, with Dean being alive, Mary Winchester coming back from the dead, Sam and Kevin getting captured by the British Men of Letters, and the search for Sam and Kevin, Garth hadn’t remembered to turn on his phone in a while.   
Now that there was a calm moment, with Garth in the bunker’s library while everyone else slept. He turned on his phone and played his two voicemails.  
The first was a call from Balthazar. It honestly sounded like he’d dialed Garth by accident, and hadn’t been intending to call anyone at all. It would make sense. After the angels fell, Balthazar, being a ‘traitor to Heaven’, had his Grace taken away. He’d been a human for the past three years, which meant that he could get drunk. And that was probably the reason for the call.  
“ _I have no idea where I am._ ” That was the entirety of the message. Garth smiled at it. Balthazar could take care of himself, so there was no need to go after him.  
The next message, however, made his blood run cold. It was a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time, and nearly forgotten entirely.  
“ _Garth, hey. I was hoping this was still your number. This is Ben. Ben Braeden? My mom found you in a well once. I don’t know how often that happens to you. A-Anyways, you told me to call you if I ever remembered where I’ve seen your tattoo before. I remember. And you were right. I have a lot of questions. Call me back as soon as you can. Also, do you know Dean Winchester? I’ve been looking for him._ ” The message ended with a resounding beep. Garth was left in a crushing silence.   
This was not going to be good.


End file.
